"Don't think of me as some saint," Fan Xian said, shaking his head. "Ultimately, I'm also looking out for myself. Taking over the Internal Treasury next year? That cuts off the Xinyang faction's financial lifeline. What will she use to support the princes? Does she think she'll allow that to happen? The Internal Treasury's accounts are naturally in order, but what about the hidden deficits? Am I supposed to take those on and worry myself sick?"

"I have no desire to pick up the broken plate of leftovers from her feast!"

"The Internal Treasury is a gold mine, but also a cesspool... The Eldest Princess has the Empress Dowager's favor. What about me? As an outsider minister managing the Internal Treasury, it's just asking for trouble." He said, troubled, "I suspect His Majesty is preparing me to be the Eldest Princess's scapegoat. When the Internal Treasury's deficits are investigated in the future, I won't be able to explain myself even with eight hundred mouths. True, I'm not willing, so I'm going to seize the initiative and throw my mother-in-law's foot bath water back onto her!"

If Chen Pingping or Fan Jian had heard him speaking at this moment, seen the expression on his face, they would surely have given him a thumbs-up, secretly praising this young man's acting skills, which had already reached a state of perfection. Outsider minister? What a load of bull!

But Yan Bingyun had no idea about this shocking secret behind the scenes. Hearing Fan Xian admit his self-interest, he felt even more admiration in his heart, thinking that this Little Fan, whom he had always disliked, was actually a... righteous official! He frowned and suggested, "Why didn't you firmly reject the palace's proposal at the outset, my Lord? The Internal Treasury is indeed... too hot to handle."

Fan Xian gave a self-deprecating laugh. "You might not believe it, but I... I really do want to do something for the people of this country."

Yan Bingyun's expression remained cold, but the temperature of his heart seemed to rise a little. He stood up, bowed to Fan Xian, and then began to give advice from the perspective of a subordinate, in a steady voice: "It's not wise to move against the Internal Treasury at this time."

Fan Xian watched him quietly.

Yan Bingyun didn't seem to notice Fan Xian's somewhat aggressive gaze. "Because even if this matter were exposed... Judging from your recent plans, you might even have the audacity to ask Shi Chanli to write an official document, post it on the wall next to the Dali Temple, so that everyone in the world knows how much the Eldest Princess and the officials in the capital have gained from the Internal Treasury..."

Fan Xian smiled self-deprecatingly. He did indeed have this plan. Anyway, he was bold and had a strong backing—this backing wasn't the Emperor, but that Uncle.

"...It would still be useless," Yan Bingyun said seriously. "At least it would be useless for this year's disaster victims. The silver that has flowed out of the Internal Treasury cannot be recovered in just one month. Let alone whether His Majesty can make this decision, offending most of the officials—just the sheer number of officials to be demoted would cause problems in the court's operations—the disaster relief efforts cannot be delayed."

Fan Xian fell into contemplation and asked, "Then what is your opinion?"

"Temporarily suppress this case... Lord Shangshu has been in charge of the National Treasury for a long time and must have his own methods. I believe he will not neglect the disaster situation in the South," Yan Bingyun said quietly. "The arrangements you have made in Northern Qi also need some time to prepare. After the winter, the Fourth Division and Wang Qinian will coordinate from the north and south, first removing the Cui family, cutting off the Xinyang faction's share of the wealth, and then taking advantage of the new Supervisor's control of the Internal Treasury to investigate accounts and cases, acting with thunderous speed."

"This is a prudent approach," Fan Xian frowned. "I'm just worried that Wang Qinian hasn't been in Shangjing long enough to fully grasp the power in the north and that the removal of the Cui family won't be clean."

Yan Bingyun paused slightly and then replied directly, "This subordinate... can help."

Fan Xian looked at him, his expression unchanged, but his heart was filled with secret joy. "You are now a famous figure in Northern Qi... How is it possible for you to return to the north?"

Yan Bingyun replied, "My men don't need me to watch over them to do their jobs."

"I will try to gain more and more power, and then use this power to do some of the things I want to do. In this process, I need the help of many people," Fan Xian looked into his eyes and said in a very low voice. "I would like to cooperate with you as well as we did in Shangjing... Of course, not just this time, and not just that one time in the spring next year."

Yan Bingyun understood his meaning. He didn't remain silent for too long. He lowered his head, clasped his fist, bowed, and left.

The young talents of the Overwatch Council were not the kind of people to be indecisive. However, after Little Yan showed Little Fan enough trust, he still turned back with a puzzled look on his face, just a moment before stepping out of the study. "Supervisor, you have been living a life of luxury since childhood. Why do you care so much about the suffering people in the world...?"

Fan Xian scratched his head and replied, "Maybe it's because I... have been used to doing good deeds for a long time."

...

...

"That Little Yan is so tolerant. He never even asked how Miss Shen is doing now."

He looked at the half-trimmed shrubs under the setting sun outside the window, his face expressionless, but he was secretly sighing in his heart. The officialdom was indeed a dangerous place at every turn. Even in his own residence, Fan manor, there was such a deeply skilled spy!

Although after Fan Xian officially revealed his identity as the Supervisor of the Overwatch Council in the Ministry of Justice, the secret agent stationed in the Fan manor very wisely revealed his identity and withdrew, this courtyard was still not quiet. If he didn't have Uncle Wuzhu behind him, he might not have noticed that flower-planting woman at all.

Just as he had said, Fan Xian was not a saint, nor was he a purely good person, let alone a revolutionary—the simplest reason for dealing with the Eldest Princess, along with that unpredictable Second Prince, was because he already had an irreconcilable feud with the Xinyang faction.

And the root of this feud—the Internal Treasury—was the thing that Fan Xian was least likely to give up after his rebirth. The Internal Treasury was the Ye family, and the meaning it held was something that Fan Xian had to protect. No matter who tried to block his path, Fan Xian would ruthlessly kick them away.

But the words he said to Yan Bingyun were not entirely acting, just like what he had once said to his younger sister a long time ago.

—How should one live their life?

How should Fan Xian live his life? Love himself, love his wife, love his family, love the people of the world, love what he loves, and love what others love. This wasn't the influence of the "Great Love" TV station, but a pure and heartfelt thought—living a muddled life, enjoying wealth and power, bullying men and dominating women, was one way to live. Living honestly, enduring grievances, and barely making ends meet was one way to live. Leading troops to war, killing people like flies, and unifying the world was also one way to live.

Fan Xian was also an ordinary male animal who coveted wealth, enjoyed power, and admired beautiful women, but his experience of living two lives allowed him to more accurately grasp what he wanted. Therefore, he believed that living freely and unrestrainedly, being ruthless when he should be, being gentle when he should be, spending more time with beautiful women, earning more money, and seeing more of the beautiful scenery in this world, this was a glorious and brilliant life.

Under the premise of first ensuring his life and material well-being, he didn't mind beautifying his spiritual world a little. But for the world to be beautiful, he had to first make sure that the people living in this world could smile. Therefore, Fan Xian, this "pitiable powerful official," would inevitably be a little more tired at the beginning.

If he still maintained the clear and ruthless state of mind of that young man from Danzhou, perhaps he would become much freer and happier. The Internal Treasury and the people of the world would not make him have any extra thoughts. But that extra bit of curiosity in the spring of Qingli four years—curiosity about his fiancée—made him fall in love, fall into family, and sink deeper and deeper, never to be able to freely *abalagu* in this world again. This fact tells us that for a man, getting married too early is always a very foolish thing.

———————————————————————————

That afternoon, Fan Xian, Supervisor of the Overwatch Council, and Yan Bingyun, candidate head of the Fourth Division of the Overwatch Council, had a conversation at the Fan manor about the Internal Treasury, the Second Prince, and the people's livelihood. The content of this conversation was soon sent through the most secret channel in Qing Kingdom, separately to the Imperial Study in the palace and to Chen Pingping's desk.

Chen Pingping's reaction was simple. He directly wrote a handwritten order, temporarily delegating his authority over the entire Council to Fan Xian. That is to say, until Chen Pingping revoked this order, Fan Xian could legitimately mobilize all the power of the Overwatch Council, this vast and terrifying organization.

And in the Imperial Study, the Supreme Emperor of Qing Kingdom looked at the report on his desk and simply nodded lightly.

His Majesty was very pleased with Fan Xian's actions in recent days. Since the officials and people of this world all thought that the Overwatch Council was his dog, then this dog must have the courage and ruthlessness to bite people, but it must not bite everyone it saw. Letting Fan Xian be the one to lead the dog was to see how capable he really was.

After that conversation with Chen Pingping nine months ago, although the Emperor didn't say anything, he had tacitly accepted the fact that Fan Xian would take over the Overwatch Council. In the future, he would have to let that child know his true identity—being the blood of the Son of Heaven, but being unable to sit on the Dragon Throne forever due to the problem of his birth—he thought that child would be very satisfied with this arrangement.

Of course, this Emperor admired Fan Xian's conversation with Yan Bingyun even more. The kind of sentiment that naturally flowed out in the conversation was so similar to that woman back then... A trace of gratified smile flashed across the Emperor's thin face. Although that little fellow was somewhat disrespectful to him in his words, he could see the loyalty beneath those words.

He glanced at the eunuch in front of him and said with a smile, "Hong Siyang, what do you think of... Fan Xian?"

Eunuch Hong bowed slightly, his old face without a trace of emotional fluctuation. "Too artificial."

The Emperor frowned slightly, not saying anything, but thinking about whether Fan Xian might be acting for him. However, he heard that the Fifth Prince had been in the South, and no one in the capital should be able to detect his arrangements.

"Your Majesty, how should we handle it?" What Eunuch Hong asked was naturally about the Second Prince and the Eldest Princess.

The Emperor shook his head indifferently. "The play hasn't even started yet. How can we stop it so quickly?"

This Emperor of Qing Kingdom had also been troubled by the emptiness of the National Treasury. Although he had always suspected the Xinyang faction, he had not been able to find any solid evidence. Moreover, out of consideration for the Empress Dowager's health, the Emperor, who always valued loyalty and filial piety, could not fiercely uncover everything behind the scenes. After all, Li Yunrui's merits to Qing Kingdom outweighed her demerits. After all, the Second Prince was his own son.

It was not until today that he truly believed Chen Pingping's words. Some things, young people may seem a bit reckless, but they will also show enough ability and courage. Not to mention Fan Xian, even that young official named Yan Bingyun, he seemed to have not given him enough attention at the beginning.

The palace maids lit the candlesticks and retreated, and the Imperial Study was silent. The Emperor quietly waited for Fan Xian's memorial. If Fan Xian really guessed his thoughts and was willing to be a solitary minister according to his arrangement, then he should send the information he found to his desk no later than tonight.

And if Fan Xian really followed Yan Bingyun's advice and suppressed this matter... The Emperor frowned. Even if Fan Xian was considering the stability of the court, it would be a deception that he, as the Son of Heaven, could not allow.

...

...

With a creak, the door of the Imperial Study opened, and a eunuch walked in with two boxes of memorials. The Emperor had always been diligent, and his review of memorials continued until late at night. This had become a fixed rule in the palace.

The Emperor's expression remained unchanged, but he was waiting for something in his heart. Only when he saw the secret memorial box at the bottom did a gentle smile appear on the corner of his lips.

He opened the Overwatch Council's dedicated secret memorial box and began to carefully read the first memorial that Fan Xian had written since entering the officialdom, a secret memorial.

After a long time, he put this memorial on the candlelight and burned it, coughed lightly twice, picked up a vermilion pen, and wrote two words on a blank sheet of paper, sealing it back into the secret memorial box.

In fact, in his heart, this memorial, which might change the fate of many people, was nothing at all. On the path of stepping towards the pinnacle of power, this Emperor had already seen through many things. Contrary to the secret speculations of many forces, including Fan Xian, he didn't care at all how his sons and sisters would make a fuss, because no one could truly understand the ambition and confidence of this Emperor.

But the Emperor was very satisfied with Fan Xian's performance, because he knew that Fan Xian was not attacking the Second Prince from the standpoint of the Crown Prince's faction.

Therefore, when this comforted Emperor began to review the subsequent memorials, an incomparable anger and contempt immediately appeared on his thin face.

The Censors of the Imperial Censorate collectively impeached Fan Xian, Supervisor and Head of the First Division of the Overwatch Council, for engaging in private malfeasance, accepting bribes privately, and being arrogant and perverting the law!

One memorial after another, like pairs of provocative eyes, stared at the Emperor's gloomy face.