The sound of thumping kowtows echoed in the vast palace, and before long, blood was visible on the forehead of the Left Censor-in-Chief, Lai Mingcheng.

The Emperor glanced at him with some distaste, waved for the guards to drag him away, and then looked faintly at Fan Xian, saying, "Director Fan, you are in the Overwatch Council, and the law grants you great privileges. You must be more cautious in your actions in the future, and never lose face for me."

Having found such a rare opportunity to smooth things over, the wise Emperor certainly wouldn't let it pass. He waved to stop Fan Xian's request and the eunuch, knowing his intentions, loudly announced the end of the court session.

Fan Xian sighed inwardly, knowing that the Emperor couldn't be seen as leaning too much in his favor on this matter.

While he was still unsatisfied, the various ministers had already deeply felt the Emperor's protection of the Fan family's son. As they retreated from the Taiji Palace, many came forward to express their condolences to him. At this moment, the ministers seemed to have become enemies of the Censorate, belittling them utterly.

Fan Xian responded with bitter smiles, catching sight of his father, hunched over and looking old, walking towards the square. His heart stirred, and he quickly stepped forward to support him. The ministers behind them looked at this father and son, and couldn't help but praise them, saying that father and son serving together in the court, with paternal love and filial piety, was truly a wonderful tale in the palace.

Minister Fan felt his arm tighten and turned to see his son supporting him. He sighed with a wry smile, "Anzhi, oh Anzhi, why can't you be more peaceful?"

Fan Xian was also filled with grievances. Who could have thought that the Xin Yang faction would be relentlessly targeting him?

As they approached the palace gate, a small eunuch quietly ran over, conveying the Emperor's oral decree. He pulled Fan Xian and trotted all the way towards the harem. Minister Fan looked at his son's back with a complex expression, suddenly feeling that although this young man often pretended to be calm and composed, this trot still revealed the carefree nature in his bones, which was somewhat out of place with the solemn and oppressive atmosphere of the palace.

A colleague came from behind, and Minister Fan's expression immediately changed to one of ancient well without ripples. He smiled slightly and walked out of the palace with the ministers. The rain from earlier in the day had long stopped, but the open space in front of the palace was still soaked with puddles of water. The several censors from the Censorate were already drenched, but still stubbornly knelt on the wet ground. The angry Left Censor-in-Chief, after the court session, also knelt stiffly in front of them, holding his black gauze hat over his left chest.

Seeing this scene, the ministers knew that the matter was not over. Grand Secretary Shu stepped forward to offer a few words of comfort, but when he saw that it had no effect, he shook his head and left. More officials quickly got into their carriages and returned to their residences, knowing that this matter would escalate and it was safer to stay away.

Only Minister Fan stood in front of this group for a moment, then instructed the guards of his residence to bring umbrellas for these censors, and wait nearby, because no one knew if it would rain again later.

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Led by the small eunuch, Fan Xian trotted through several palace walls and arrived outside the Imperial Study. The small eunuch was already panting for breath. Fan Xian thought for a moment, circulated his Genuine Qi slightly, and also made his face appear a little ruddy.

He entered the Emperor's Imperial Study with some unease. Following the small eunuch's instructions, he stood carefully by the Emperor's soft couch. After a short while, a curtain beside the study moved slightly, and the Emperor, having changed into casual clothes, walked in. Looking at Fan Xian's calm expression and the hint of excitement in his eyes, the Emperor waved his hand, indicating that he shouldn't be too formal.

So Fan Xian really didn't kneel and salute, took the embroidered stool offered by the small eunuch, and sat down honestly.

Today's Imperial Study was much quieter than that day, with only the Emperor and him left, so the situation seemed a little strange. Fan Xian's expression was calm, but his heart was a little apprehensive. Because the conjecture was just a conjecture, although it had been confirmed by Chen Pingping's words and the many details since this life – but if the Emperor really made this conjecture clear later – what should he do?

Just when Fan Xian felt more and more that the Emperor was preparing to put on the mask of a loving father, he was awakened by the following words.

"Fan Xian, you don't lack money, why are you greedy for money?" The Emperor looked at him coldly and asked directly.

A drop of cold sweat dripped from Fan Xian's forehead. He knew that he had indeed been somewhat presumptuous before, and even more so that his acceptance of silver notes through the Liu family could not be hidden from the Emperor. He stood up and said very seriously, "Your Majesty, because I am in charge of the First Bureau of the Overwatch Council, I have to collect silver notes."

"Oh?" The Emperor seemed a little curious about his next words.

"To truly monitor officials, one must first integrate into the officialdom. The previous appearance of the First Bureau of the Overwatch Council, which was clean and austere and didn't get involved with worldly affairs, although it could rely on a huge network of secret agents to effectively monitor officials in the capital, it was like looking at flowers in the fog, always unclear. It was always unable to figure out the most important transactions in the capital's official system." Fan Xian explained carefully, "To monitor officials, one must become an official oneself."

He continued with a wry smile, "Your Majesty also knows that I have lived in Danzhou for a long time..." As he said this, he lowered his head, but he could detect a subtle reaction from the Emperor when he heard these words.

"...After entering the capital, the changes have been too great. I was originally just a courtier, but now I have to take over such heavy power as the Overwatch Council. In addition to feeling uneasy, I often think that I actually have a barrier with the officials and it is extremely difficult to integrate into the court."

Before he could continue, the Emperor understood his meaning and waved his hand, asking coldly, "If you are really a white crane, even if you dye yourself black with ink, you can't fool the crows. These methods are really a bit naive. As long as you are loyal to the country, who would dare to make things difficult for you? Don't forget Zhu Ge's lesson. That fellow initially wanted to plunge into the officialdom in the capital, but he plunged in and could never get up again."

Fan Xian knew that the Emperor was repeatedly warning him to be a solitary minister. He felt a little disgusted in his heart, but there was no change on his face. He just chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, someone in court today made things difficult for me..."

The eunuch holding the horsetail whisk beside him trembled in his heart, thinking that Lord Fan's words were not appropriate and showed a bit of arrogance. Even if the Emperor loved this young minister, he was afraid that he would lose his temper. Even the Crown Prince was respectful and a little fearful in front of His Majesty. Who would speak like Fan Xian?

To the eunuch's surprise, the Emperor smiled and looked at Fan Xian, saying, "I did want to give you justice, but this is a matter between you and your elders, and I don't want to interfere too much."

Fan Xian was shocked and knew that the Emperor fully understood the background of the Censorate's memorial and that it was related to the Xin Yang faction. But why did he still suppress him and not let him take action? He was really unwilling in his heart, and just as he wanted to add some eye drops to the Emperor, he suddenly saw the Emperor rubbing his brow and saying faintly, "I have a painting to show you."

Countless thoughts flooded Fan Xian's mind. He thought of what Chen Pingping had said, that the only painting left by his mother was kept in the palace!

At this moment, the door of the Imperial Study was pushed open, and Eunuch Hou, familiar with Fan Xian, walked in anxiously, saying something softly to the Emperor. Fan Xian's hearing was excellent, and he had already heard clearly. He couldn't help but be surprised, thinking that the censors of the Censorate had invested too much this time, right?

As expected, the Emperor's face gradually became gloomy. He glanced at Fan Xian, waved his hand, and said, "Kneel at the palace gate, take off the black gauze hat? They're advising me to be a fatuous ruler, then I'll be fatuous once for them to see. Convey my decree: the censors of the Censorate falsely accuse court officials, recklessly interfere with the duties of the Overwatch Council, neglect government affairs, do not think of repentance, seek fame recklessly. Order them to receive the court baton... thirty strokes!"

This was the first time Fan Xian had seen the Son of Heaven angry, and he couldn't help but feel a trace of coldness. Thirty strokes of the court baton, even if those censors didn't die, they would lose half their lives.

Actually, it was also these censors' bad luck. Just when the Qing Kingdom Emperor was preparing to do that major event, their actions interrupted his emotions, so how could he spare them?

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Outside the Shenhua Gate, by the Yushui River, before the arched bridge, on the wet flagstones, several censors were stripped of their official robes and pressed to the ground to be beaten. The court baton fell heavily and then slowly raised. With each fall, it would raise several strands of blood and several bursts of rainwater. The scene was extremely bloody.

At this time, the civil officials who heard the news rushed back, eager to enter the palace to advise the Emperor. When they looked at Fan Xian, who had been sent to observe the punishment at the palace gate, their eyes couldn't help but show more fear – although today's events were initiated by the people of the Censorate, the Emperor had actually used the court baton, which had been stopped for several years, for Fan Xian's sake. This made them have a clearer understanding of Fan Xian's position in the Emperor's heart.

Fan Xian stood beside Eunuch Hou, squinting at the scene before him. He had no sympathy for those censors, but he showed a look of intolerance on his face and said, "Eunuch, tell your men to be a little lighter."

Eunuch Hou said with his eyes lowered, "Lord Fan is kind-hearted. You had already told me before, how dare this old servant disobey? I have already explained it. The beatings seem terrible at this moment, but in fact, they don't hurt the bones."

Fan Xian's eyes swept down and saw that the eunuch's toes were pointing outwards, knowing that this was a signal for "beating carefully." He sighed slightly and stopped paying attention to this matter.

Not far from the two of them, the Left Censor-in-Chief, who had been given some face by the Emperor, sat on the ground with a pale face. Although he had not received the court baton, he felt that these beatings on his subordinates were like slaps in the face. The Fan family's servants, left behind by Fan Xian's father, watched the Left Censor-in-Chief, whose mind was already confused, with a mocking expression, holding rain gear.

Fan Xian walked over, waved to disperse those servants, and looked at Inspector Lai with a hint of pity, saying, "Why did you have to get involved in this matter?"

Inspector Lai didn't know how much Fan Xian knew about the inside story, and stayed where he was.

Fan Xian sighed, and begged Eunuch Hou to temporarily stop the baton punishment, and then went to the Holy Emperor in the palace alone to beg for mercy. It was not that he couldn't bear the bloodshed, nor that he wanted to let go of these censors who dared to provoke him. It was just that in front of the court officials who showed expressions of intolerance, he had to do so.

As Fan Xian ran towards the palace, he thought bitterly in his heart, you old Emperor want to use this court baton to push me to the opposite side of all the officials, I won't do it. I've worked hard to accumulate two years of good karma, and if it's all lost by your few court batons, I'll suffer a big loss!