Rain continued to fall, and the flowers in the gardens throughout Kyoto had long since bloomed, gradually withered, and returned to the mud.

Regarding the investigation into the Ministry of Revenue, the palace was still waiting for a result, which put the officials at court in a difficult position. By now, the officials naturally understood that whoever wanted to bring down the Ministry of Revenue had to fall first. Without the need for Lord Fan in Jiangnan to even speak, the elder Lord Fan in Kyoto had already shown enough of his cards.

Checking and checking, surely no one wanted to be investigated themselves. Who would do such a foolish thing? -- Moreover, the Crown Prince had already provided a good example of being foolish.

In officialdom, the greatest power was the Emperor's golden words, and the second greatest was the so-called unspoken rules. The Ministry of Revenue was now being swayed back and forth between these two forces, but no matter how it swayed, it stubbornly refused to fall.

Fan Jian simply refused to request dismissal to conclude the matter. Even though rumors spread from the palace that His Majesty was prepared to offer a rare and generous title as compensation, the Fan family continued to hold firm. For a time, the officials in Kyoto couldn't help but admire Fan Jian's confidence deep down.

In fact, Fan Jian was not rigidly holding on. After the Ministry of Revenue had implicated enough officials, and when the Crown Prince began to turn his attention to other things, such as self-preservation and dragging his brothers down with him, the Minister of Revenue did not return to the ministry office. Instead, he began to leisurely drink tea at home, visit the manor to enjoy the scenery, and occasionally bother friends' residences.

He wasn't comfortable visiting other residences at this time, because during the investigation of the Ministry of Revenue, he didn't want to cause trouble for others, and others didn't dare to associate with him too closely.

However, Prince Jing's residence was an exception.

Prince Jing was the Empress Dowager's own son, her youngest son, and the Emperor's own brother. For many years, he had remained silent and obedient, tending to flowers and plants. The palace knew what this attitude represented, so they generally didn't bother him much.

Fan Jian had always been on good terms with Prince Jing, so visiting his residence was a normal occurrence. Furthermore, given Prince Jing's personality, he wasn't afraid of anything.

Then one day, Fan Jian entered the palace and had a deep and candid conversation with His Majesty in the imperial study all night, sincerely sharing his thoughts.

He analyzed from various perspectives, believing that it was more appropriate for him to continue serving as the Minister of Revenue. He didn't hide anything from the Emperor on this matter. It wasn't about clinging to power for the sake of power, but rather in such a seemingly peaceful but actually complex situation, Fan Jian meticulously analyzed himself and the court, advising His Majesty to withdraw the decree to investigate the Ministry of Revenue. Only in this way would it be the best choice for Qing.

This was a path of righteousness and integrity. Such selflessness in recommending oneself, such candor, even surprised the Emperor.

The next day, it was said that Prince Jing also entered the palace. Rumor had it that this eccentric prince muttered and grumbled in the Empress Dowager's Han Guang Palace for a long time, eventually even arguing with the Empress Dowager. As for what they argued about, no one knew.

...

...

That night, the Empress Dowager and His Majesty the Emperor watched a play together. During a break while snacking on melon seeds, the Empress Dowager told the Emperor about Prince Jing's visit to the palace. The Emperor smiled and said nothing.

The Empress Dowager's meaning was clear, and her attitude was the same as when Fan Xian first entered Kyoto. The old Fan family had done so much for the old Li family, they shouldn't be treated too poorly. Besides, having the youngest son come to the palace to argue every day wasn't a pretty sight... Most importantly, the Empress Dowager knew that her grandsons were probably all involved in the Ministry of Revenue's affairs. Investigating the Ministry of Revenue and implicating the imperial family, where would the imperial family's face be placed?

Minister Fan always thought that the Emperor would care more about face than his subjects, but he didn't expect that the first person to feel embarrassed would be the Empress Dowager.

However, the effect was similar.

The next day, the decree came down. Although, in order to maintain the dignity of the court, the decree to investigate the Ministry of Revenue was not explicitly withdrawn, the Emperor used the excuse of state affairs to transfer most of the ministers in the joint investigation team back to their original departments. Undoubtedly, the intensity of the investigation into the Ministry of Revenue would be greatly reduced.

The officials all breathed a collective sigh of relief. It was a harmonious court, so why insist on a life-and-death struggle?

Everyone knew that the reason the palace had reduced the intensity of the investigation into the Ministry of Revenue was definitely related to Prince Jing's uproar in the palace. Thinking about this, the ministers couldn't help but feel a few strange emotions in their hearts.

The Fan family and Prince Jing's residence had been on good terms for generations, which was well known to the world. However, things were different now. Starting last autumn, there seemed to be many problems between the two families. First, Fan Xian's war with the Second Prince involved Prince Jing's son, Li Hongcheng. Later, the Fan family's daughter shockingly became the closed-door disciple of Northern Qi's National Preceptor, Ku He, and the marriage alliance between the two families was called off...

But Prince Jing had entered the palace? Could it be that the relationship between the two families had been restored to normal? The civil and military officials sighed, increasingly feeling that Fan Jian was unfathomable.

However, at the same time, the Emperor issued a rather intriguing personnel appointment—He Zongwei, a censor from the Censorate, was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief and joined the team investigating the Ministry of Revenue.

He Zongwei was a well-known talented scholar in Kyoto, as famous as Hou Jichang, one of the "Four Disciples of Fan". Because he had always been on good terms with Guo Baokun and had connections with the Ministry of Rites, he postponed his entry into officialdom to avoid controversy. When the spring imperial examination of Qingli five years came around, he was forced to abandon the examination due to the death of a family member.

Thus, this famous talented scholar had never participated in the imperial examination, and in people's minds, he was a person with extremely bad luck.

But on the other hand, He Zongwei's luck was also extremely good. He befriended the Guo family and met the Crown Prince, gaining fame in Kyoto. Later, in the spring of Qingli five years, he "coincidentally" became involved in the downfall of the former Prime Minister. In the end, he was favored by His Majesty, and bypassing many procedures, was directly granted the title of Censor of the Censorate.

In fact, people knew that He Zongwei was good at swaying and choosing sides. He stood on the side of the Crown Prince for a while, then on the side of Princess Xin Yang... But now he had become the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate!

Such a young person had reached such a high position, and people couldn't help but be astonished. Why did His Majesty appreciate this person so much?

Actually, this kind of precedent wasn't unprecedented. For example, Fan Xian... Lord Fan was younger than He Zongwei, held a higher position, had greater power, and was more famous.

But the problem was that everyone knew that Lord Fan was an imperial son in secret, and his literary and martial fame was world-renowned. It wasn't surprising that he had achieved his current status, but what about this He Zongwei?

Some gossipy officials couldn't help but secretly smile and think, could it be that His Majesty had discovered another illegitimate son?

Regardless of how the officials and common people speculated, in short, this former talented scholar of Kyoto, who had always been hidden in the Second Prince's carriage, the Eldest Princess's residence, and the study of the Censorate, had finally officially stepped onto the stage of history, and would continue to shine for many years to come.

Young, handsome, talented, in a high position, and with His Majesty's appreciation, the current Left Censor-in-Chief He Zongwei was like a rising sun, dazzling.

And Fan Xian, far away in Jiangnan... was probably a black hole that would devour the sun. It's likely no one believed that last year, Fan Xian had used black boxing to beat this current red-hot figure in the court into a pig's head.

This was He Zongwei's lifelong shame, because he knew that Lord Fan in Jiangnan looked down on him from the bottom of his heart. But now that His Majesty valued him, he had to do something for His Majesty.

———————————————————————

The situation that had plagued His Highness the Crown Prince was finally alleviated, but the 400,000 taels of silver still had to be smoothed over. Last night, the Empress Dowager scolded her grandson severely in Han Guang Palace before telling him that His Majesty was in a bad mood. That the Empress Dowager was able to protect him this time, did not mean she could protect him every time.

The Crown Prince regretted it somewhat. In fact, after Fan Xian entered Kyoto these past two years, he had done a decent job of behaving himself. He was honest and obedient, and rarely even indulged in women. It was just that he had been somewhat reckless two years ago, leaving so many loose ends that people could easily seize upon.

Thinking of this, he began to resent the Minister of Revenue, who was holding onto his loose ends so tightly, causing him immense pain.

The Fan family!

Compared to the Second Prince, whom he had hated so much in the past, the Crown Prince now finally realized that in the coming years, his greatest enemy would undoubtedly be the Fan family, whether the old one or the young one.

The investigation into the Ministry of Revenue had already brought the Eastern Palace and the Fan family into direct conflict, and this time the Fan family had gained the upper hand. Regardless of whether the Crown Prince was willing to resolve the matter peacefully, Fan Jian was naturally intelligent enough to know that if the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the Fan family wouldn't have a good time.

The Crown Prince was not the Emperor and had no feelings for the old woman in Danzhou.

And regarding Little Fan, because of the Ye family's affairs, they were mortal enemies. The Crown Prince couldn't possibly hope that Fan Xian would stand on his side, or even that he wouldn't oppose him in the matter of succession.

Now that the main contradiction had been established, the other contradictions were secondary contradictions. All past unpleasantness could be easily waved away.

Therefore, when his confidant brought the Second Prince's proposal to meet on the Liujing River, the Crown Prince pondered for a moment and agreed.

He sneered, knowing that his Second Brother also knew that dealing with Fan Xian was far beyond his capabilities alone. There was only one chair, whether for the Crown Prince or the Second Prince. They could reveal their daggers and fight for it later, but for now, they had to at least ensure that the chair wouldn't fall under the Third Prince's bottom.

In the current situation, the Emperor's two sons had to abandon their previous grudges and unite, unite all forces that could be united, in order to defeat that perverted wild child far away in Jiangnan.

On the Liujing River, spring was as rich as a woman's eyes, gradually becoming intense, as if summer was about to arrive.

On a pleasure boat, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince drank and enjoyed the scenery, as if nothing unpleasant had ever happened between them all these years.

The Second Prince, having extended a hand in reconcilation, naturally had to express himself first. He first apologized for the Ministry of Justice's Secretary Yan Xingshu's unseemly kicking-a-man-when-he's-down during the investigation of the Ministry of Revenue.

Of course, he wouldn't say it very clearly. Although the Crown Prince was sometimes a bit of an idiot, he was mostly a smart person, so just a hint would suffice.

The Crown Prince also sighed, saying that he had been less able to suppress Fan Xian after he entered Kyoto.

The two brothers exchanged a look and saw each other's hidden worries and a trace of helplessness.

Fan Xian had too much power in his hands, and the old guys behind him were too powerful. More importantly, it seemed that some people in the palace were also leaning towards him.

Li Chengping, the Third Prince, had always been by Fan Xian's side. What did the Emperor mean by this arrangement?

The Crown Prince and the Second Prince fell silent at the same time.

Finally, the Second Prince slowly opened his mouth and said with a light smile, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, I heard that Fan Xian opened a branch of the Baoyue Brothel in Suzhou. There are two very famous girls inside, one is the little girl he snatched from Hongcheng, and the other is a bit interesting. I heard she's... a slave girl from the First Prince's residence."

The Crown Prince lowered his eyes, bit his teeth, and said with a cold snort, "Wasn't our eldest brother also speaking up for Fan Xian in the imperial study that day? It seems he's really afraid of the great princess from Northern Qi... Second Brother, you and Eldest Brother have always been on good terms, how could you not tell that he's henpecked?"

The Second Prince raised his eyebrows and smiled, chuckling twice without saying anything more.

At that time, a warm breeze blew gently on the river, the pleasure boat floated slowly, and the willows on the bank couldn't bear the increasingly hot weather, hoping that the rain that had stopped in the morning would fall again.

The two men by the boat window had gentle expressions, but each harbored their own ulterior motives, yet were forced to sit together and discuss matters.

"He Zongwei will continue to investigate the Ministry of Revenue," the Second Prince said with a smile, "Please rest assured, he knows his limits."

The Crown Prince snorted coldly. Including the Ministry of Rites and He Zongwei, these people were originally close to the Eastern Palace, but were later drawn over by the Eldest Princess and the Second Prince. Now that He Zongwei had gained a foothold in the court, how could the Crown Prince not hate him?

He said coldly, "Don't forget, He Zongwei is eager for fame and fortune. He is a thoroughbred turncoat. He stands on your side today, who knows where he will stand tomorrow?"

The Second Prince stared blankly at the deep spring scenery outside the boat and sighed, "Rest assured, he won't defect to Fan Xian's side."

The Crown Prince said, "But with his current status, it seems there's no need for him to continue staying under your wing..." He mocked, "Ultimately, this position was given to him by the Emperor."

The Second Prince was slightly startled, knowing that the Crown Prince's words were meaningful, but he was too lazy to refute them, saying with a smile, "He's not here today precisely because of the reason you mentioned. Now that he's a court official, he should be careful to maintain his distance from us."

"However," the Second Prince turned to look at the Crown Prince, his face still wearing a harmless, gentle smile, but a few strands of disgust arose in his heart. He felt somewhat uncomfortable being forced to join forces with this guy he had always looked down on.

"Today, I invited Your Highness here because someone wants to see you."

The Crown Prince was taken aback, frowning and saying, "Who has such a big ego that they dare ask this Prince to come see them?"

...

...

"Isn't even I allowed to do that?"

A gentle, clear, alluring, and wonderful female voice came from the back cabin. As soon as this voice came out, it seemed to immediately drown out the beautiful sounds of nature, such as the wind blowing through the willows and small birds flying, making it sound exceptionally pleasing.

The Crown Prince's expression changed, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. He stood there dumbfounded for a long while before slowly getting up, bowing towards the back cabin, and laughing self-deprecatingly, "Since Aunt entered the palace, Chen Qian hasn't seen her. Chen Qian thought Aunt didn't want to see me."

Princess Li Yunrui lifted the beaded curtain and slowly walked out, looking at the Crown Prince with a half-smile.

The Crown Prince inexplicably felt nervous, not daring to look directly at that beautiful, otherworldly face.

...

...

"It seems we were all tricked in this Ministry of Revenue matter," Princess Li Yunrui's face showed a hint of fatigue, but she couldn't hide her radiance. Suddenly, she chuckled and said, "My son-in-law is really interesting. He set up a trap for us to fall into. Luckily, Prince Jing caused a commotion, otherwise things would have gotten out of hand. We couldn't find any evidence that the Ministry of Revenue was secretly smuggling state funds to Jiangnan, and it would have been difficult to explain to the court."

The Ministry of Revenue's silver had gone around Jiangnan and returned long ago, so naturally nothing could be found. Although some silver was still left in the Jiangnan banks, the amount wasn't large, and Fan Jian's ruthlessness naturally covered it up flawlessly.

The Crown Prince looked at his nose, and his nose looked at his heart, and said softly, "Please guide me, Aunt."

"Today, I'm just here to drink tea," Princess Li Yunrui said with a smile, "After all, you are... brothers, everything can be discussed openly. Don't let outsiders laugh at you."

When she said the words "brothers," she emphasized the "brother" word, accentuating the tone on the tip of her tongue, which, while focusing on the main point, inexplicably exuded a hint of seduction.

The Crown Prince trembled and said, "But if we can't find any handle on the Ministry of Revenue, there's nothing we can do about Fan Xian… there's no loophole that can be exploited, and we can only wait for him to cultivate his power in Jiangnan. What if he returns to Kyoto in the future?"

"The Ministry of Revenue will naturally be investigated," Princess Li Yunrui said with a smile, staring at the Crown Prince's face with those watery eyes, "The Emperor is temporarily taking a step back, but he will definitely take a big step forward in the future. Your Highness doesn't need to worry about this. As for my son-in-law, you don't need to worry about him even more... Fan Xian, he seems unapproachable, but in fact... dealing with him is very easy."

The Crown Prince and the Second Prince were both stunned, wondering what she meant by that. It wasn't easy to ruin someone like Fan Xian, and it was even more difficult to bring him down. He couldn't be destroyed spiritually, and it was even more difficult to destroy him physically. Why did the Eldest Princess say it so casually?

"My son-in-law," Princess Li Yunrui said softly, "He seems ruthless, but in fact... he is ruthless yet affectionate."

—————————————————————————————

After the secret meeting on the Liujing River ended, the Second Prince boarded his carriage under the escort of the Eight Great Generals and returned directly to his residence in the north of Kyoto. Now that one of the Eight Great Generals had been killed by Fan Xian and Fan Wujiu had been frightened back to his hometown by the swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau, only six people were left, and they no longer looked as mighty as they used to be.

The Second Prince had been a prince for many years and had been married for several months. His relationship with his princess was extremely good, and there had been no bad rumors.

The Princess's surname was Ye, and her name was Ling'er.

In the bedroom, Ye Ling'er put a light azure coat on her husband. A faint sorrow floated on her face, which used to be so cheerful.

The Second Prince turned around and looked at her, his heart feeling slightly apologetic. He held her slightly cool hands and comforted her, "What are you thinking about?"

"Today..." Ye Ling'er bit her lower lip, a struggle flashing in those bright, jade-like eyes. Finally, she mustered her courage and asked, "Where did you go?"

The Second Prince lowered his head and remained silent for a moment before answering directly, "I went to the Liujing River and met with Aunt and His Highness the Crown Prince."

A warm feeling surged in Ye Ling'er's heart. Since the Second Prince didn't hide such a big matter from her, it meant that he truly regarded her as a confidante. She couldn't help but advise, "Why bother? Wouldn't it be better for us to live a peaceful life?"

Since their marriage a few months ago, the Second Prince had been gentle and considerate, and had not shown the domineering and shameless aspects of the imperial family. This was partly because Ye Ling'er's background was also extremely strong, and partly because he did have some affection for Ye Ling'er.

In fact, the younger generation of Qing had grown up together since childhood, such as Wan'er, these princes, Ye Ling'er, and the Fan family's daughter. The distinction between the imperial family and a few trusted families was not obvious.

The Second Prince knew that his wife was thinking of him and couldn't help but sigh, saying, "There are many things we can't control."

Ye Ling'er stared at him blankly, suddenly saying, "In the past, His Majesty pushed you out, but now... Master, Fan Xian has taken your role. Why do you still have to participate?"

The Second Prince sighed again, remaining calm for a moment before saying, "If it's really as you said, that my historical mission is complete, then I should indeed not participate in these things. But don't forget."

He said with a slight mockery, "That Master of yours, the most famous Lord Fan of our Qing Dynasty, is actually... the most vengeful person."

Ye Ling'er frowned slightly and said sadly, "Is there any hatred that can't be resolved? Do you want me to go and talk to him?"

Although the Second Prince secretly laughed at his wife's naivety, he was also touched by her concern. He hugged her in his arms and comforted her, "There are many hatreds between men that can't be resolved through the intercession of women."

He didn't explain in detail, but he knew that the hatred between him and Fan Xian was difficult to resolve. The guards who died on Niulan Street, the matters of the Baoyue Brothel, those dead prostitutes, and many, many more, Fan Xian had all counted against him. In fact, this was also something that the Second Prince didn't understand very well. Why did Fan Xian have such great hatred for him, even though only some unimportant subordinates had died?

In order to protect himself, he had to have power. Of course, the most important reason was... the Second Prince was still unwilling to give up.

Everyone was unwilling, but few people knew the good intentions of Fan Xian far away in Jiangnan.

(I've been very busy lately, I've read the book reviews, thank you, but I don't have time to mark them as highlights. I'm really sorry.)