The oil lamp in the study flickered, brightening and dimming the room. Fan Xian narrowed his eyes, watching the changing yellow light on the general's face, and remained silent for a long while. According to Qing Kingdom custom, a flickering oil lamp signified good fortune, but Fan Xian couldn't be sure of that at this moment.

"Reveal your origins and state your intentions."

Fan Xian took a slow breath, trying to soften the expression on his face.

"My name is Xu Maocai." The general smiled faintly and began to explain his identity and his relationship with Fan Xian.

Fan Xian nodded. Such a plain and unremarkable name was certainly a necessary condition for concealing one's identity. He just didn't know how the man had escaped the purges of years past, and even more, why he had chosen this moment to reveal himself.

"Young Master, I am not of the Fan household, nor am I of the Overwatch Council." Xu Maocai said calmly, "I am of the Ye family, or more precisely, I am of Miss's people."

"You're an old hand from the Quanzhou Navy?"

Having confirmed his suspicions, Fan Xian's brow remained furrowed.

"Indeed." Xu Maocai replied, "Twenty years ago, I was a sailor aboard a vessel of the Quanzhou Navy. After the Quanzhou Navy was disbanded and transformed into the current Three Great Navies, I... came to Jiaozhou and have remained in the military ever since."

Fan Xian knew this piece of history, a story forever intertwined with the Ye family. During the Kyoto Incident, his mother was ambushed at the Taiping Manor. Fifth Bamboo only had time to take him away. Perhaps because of him, Fifth Bamboo didn't challenge an entire nation with his own strength...

However, things had happened after all. The Old Ye family's power in Kyoto was uprooted in a single day. The problem was that the Ye family's foundation was not limited to Kyoto; they had industries in various prefectures and circuits. Their reach even extended to every corner of the Qing Kingdom, and the military was no exception.

When His Majesty and Fan Jian returned in triumph, and when Chen Pingping hurried back to Kyoto, the situation was settled. So, aside from revenge, the biggest problem facing the monarch and his subjects was how to deal with the vast industry and influence left behind by the Ye family.

As had happened in history, and as Fan Xian knew, the Ye family's Three Great Workshops were confiscated by the imperial court and became the Imperial Treasury, which now influenced the economic lifeline of the Qing Kingdom. The Ye family's stewards were placed under house arrest. The Ye family was accused of treason.

Four years after the Kyoto Incident, the Emperor, accompanied by Chen Pingping and Fan Jian, launched a bloody counterattack and revenge, directly slaughtering one-third of the nobles in Kyoto, and even wiping out the Empress's originally powerful clan. Yet, it still didn't change certain things.

Such as the Ye family's crime and how to deal with them. Because this matter was definitely related to the old man in the depths of the palace and involved the peace of the realm.

Ye Qingmei's death was strange and unjust. To prevent the Ye family's forces from retaliating, the Qing court had to purge the Ye family and selectively inherit their assets. For the sake of the Qing Kingdom's stability, this was the only choice. Later developments showed that even Chen Pingping and Fan Jian had acquiesced to this point.

Therefore, Ye Duo, the steward of Qing Yu Tang, could survive in Kyoto until many years later, when the grown-up Fan Xian took him out of Kyoto for a breath of fresh air. The Ye family's remaining forces in the court and the military were mercilessly wiped out, leaving no trace.

The Quanzhou Navy, because it was responsible for escorting the Imperial Treasury's products, was the most heavily infiltrated by the Ye family. In a sense, it was Ye Qingmei's private navy. Therefore, in the subsequent purge, the Quanzhou Navy became the first to bear the brunt, mercilessly cut into three parts by the court. After secret suppression and cleansing, it became the current Three Great Navies of the Qing Kingdom.

Whenever he thought of the past, the suppressed rage deep within Fan Xian would begin to rise. He understood that since Ye Qingmei was already dead, those old men would inevitably make such a choice for the sake of the realm's peace and stability. If he were the Emperor, he probably wouldn't hesitate either... However, he would still feel uncomfortable and unhappy.

Noticing that Fan Xian was starting to drift off, the old Quanzhou Navy man named Xu Maocai coughed softly.

Fan Xian snapped back to reality and looked at General Xu with a complex expression. Many questions arose in his mind. How had this Ye family veteran survived the navy purge back then? How had he concealed his identity until today? Naturally, the Ye family's forces hadn't all been wiped out, but most people had long forgotten their former identities, like the Imperial Treasury's storekeepers... and had become members of the court after revealing themselves.

Xu Maocai was clearly not one of them.

Fan Xian directly expressed his questions.

Xu Maocai explained even more directly, "I joined the navy too late. Miss originally planned for me to train at sea for two years, then help the Director in the Overwatch Council... But, as you know, some things happened later, so I didn't have the chance to connect with Director Chen. By coincidence, or perhaps by luck... I managed to survive until today."

"You mean, if Chen Pingping knew you were from the Ye family, he wouldn't have allowed you to stay in the military?" Fan Xian said coldly.

Xu Maocai paused slightly, thought for a moment, and then slowly replied, "I don't know, but my luck has been good enough, so I won't gamble."

"What about my father?"

Xu Maocai knew that the young man was definitely not talking about the man on the dragon throne, but rather Minister Fan Jian of the Ministry of Revenue. After a moment's thought, he said, "The events of that year were too strange. I... I dare not trust anyone."

Dare not trust anyone. Although his tone remained steady, Fan Xian could sense a hint of coldness and disappointment in his words. After the Kyoto Incident, no one in the court spoke out for the Old Ye family, and the situation at the time was indeed too strange. Xu Maocai, as a Ye family nail, always suspected in his heart what role Chen Pingping and Fan Jian had played in that affair.

Fan Xian remained impassive, instead smiling slightly and saying, "I suppose you know about my relationship with the Old Ye family, but I don't understand very well. What's the point of you coming to tell me these things now?"

This was a test. From the beginning of the conversation until now, Fan Xian asked himself if he had revealed anything that could be used against him.

Xu Maocai looked up in confusion, as if looking at a stranger, completely forgetting that he and Fan Xian had been strangers before today.

"Young Master, you are Miss's only flesh and blood." Xu Maocai said in a deep voice, "Miss's legacy must be inherited by you, and Miss's revenge... as her son, you must naturally bear on your shoulders. Maocai is unworthy, but willing to serve like a dog or a horse."

Fan Xian was silent for a while, then slowly said, "As far as I know, the royal nobles who participated in this affair were killed as early as thirteen years ago. His Majesty is wise, only allowing those shameless bandits to live for four more years. Revenge? Who should I seek revenge from?"

Clearly, Xu Maocai had been hiding in the Jiaozhou Navy all these years and was not clear about the movements of the upper echelons of the court. But strangely, this general had a strong intuition that the Ye family's enemies were definitely not all dead, and they couldn't have died so simply.

So he said with slight anxiety, "That is a problem for Young Master to consider."

Fan Xian respected the man before him. Since this man had not left any traces in the court's eyes and had already become an important general in the Jiaozhou Navy, he could have continued to live happily, throwing everything about the Ye family and Miss to the back of his mind, enjoying high rank and noble status, and not thinking about such terrifying things as retaliating against the court.

Moreover, according to the other party's words, he had not been in the Ye family for long, and was only a young man in his early twenties.

……

……

Fan Xian remained unmoved and said with a smile, "Why should I consider it?"

"You are a descendant of the Ye family." Xu Maocai's breathing became slightly faster, seeming somewhat disappointed.

Fan Xian shook his head and said, "General, I respect your character, but you seem to have forgotten one thing. I am not only my mother's son, I also have a father."

Xu Maocai suddenly raised his head, staring coldly at Fan Xian's face. After a moment, a mixture of disappointment, shock, understanding, and resignation appeared on his face. He said with a bitter smile, "That's right, Young Master is also a prince after all."

According to common sense, Fan Xian was a descendant of the Ye family, but his more important identity was the Emperor's illegitimate son. Especially since Ye Qingmei died early, how could a person who had been secretly watched and raised by the royal family have much affection for a mother he had never met? If the object of revenge for the Ye family was the court... would this prince be willing to rebel against his own family?

This society was still a purely patriarchal society.

So Xu Maocai was disappointed, but not surprised. He simply curled his lips into a bitter smile, thinking to himself that after enduring for so many years, he finally couldn't help himself after suddenly seeing Miss's flesh and blood today. But he didn't know if what awaited him was an immediate silencing.

To his surprise, Fan Xian only asked gently, "Since you can understand my previous words, then please tell me, why did you dare to come to me tonight?"

Xu Maocai didn't understand why he would ask this. After a long silence, he said, "Ever since the news spread, I have been secretly paying attention to your movements, watching what you have been doing... and trying to find out what you have done in these past few years since you left Danzhou. Whether it's taking charge of the Overwatch Council or taking over the Imperial Treasury... I always feel that your style and methods of doing things, and the heart hidden behind it... are very similar to Miss's. So... I chose to see you."

The so-called news naturally referred to the sensational mystery of Fan Xian's background last year.

Fan Xian couldn't help but laugh at himself, wondering if his mother was as insidious and shameless as he was back then. However, to be able to create such a large business out of nothing, she must have used some powerful methods. And the deaths of those two princes were inseparable from his mother. As for Xu Maocai's extremely sensitive discovery... those two extremely similar hearts?

Fellow travelers from the same world, why ask if we've met before?

Fan Xian smiled gently, thinking that if he wanted to find two people in this world who could be close in mind and could understand each other, it would only be himself and Ye Qingmei. This relationship was even more wonderful than an ordinary mother-son relationship. Perhaps there was less blood kinship, but there was more spiritual closeness.

And it was difficult to weaken.

This would definitely be something that the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom could not guess, and even Fan Jian and Chen Pingping could not imagine. The whole world would find it incomprehensible. Why would Fan Xian, as a prince, have such deep feelings for a mother he had never met, even to the point of casting aside the so-called kinship and royalty in this world?

It was precisely because no one could understand Fan Xian's feelings for Ye Qingmei that the smartest people in this world could not guess Fan Xian's true thoughts. And in certain important moments in the future, some people would definitely pay some price for this.

……

……

"Hong Changqing." Fan Xian did not continue with Xu Maocai's questions, but raised his voice slightly and called in a subordinate of the Overwatch Council.

The one who entered the room was Qing Wa, a character who had survived the desert island and was fortunate enough to be taken in by Fan Xian. He originally had a surname, but since he was now working for Fan Xian, Fan Xian changed his name to make things easier in the future. The reason he was called Hong Changqing was partly because of Fan Xian's memories of heroes from his previous life, and partly because that kid Hong Zhu had excellent luck after taking the surname Hong.

"Be vigilant." Fan Xian said with his head slightly lowered, "Don't let anyone approach this room within ten steps."

Hong Changqing acknowledged the order and left.

Xu Maocai looked at Fan Xian with some surprise.

Fan Xian looked at him and said with a smile, "At this time, you can take out your proof to let me believe your relationship with my mother."

Xu Maocai's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately understood what Fan Xian meant. A surge of indescribable excitement welled up in his heart. He licked his slightly dry lips and carefully took something out of his boot, handing it to Fan Xian.

Since he dared to come to Fan Xian to report his identity, he must have evidence to convince Fan Xian of his origins.

……

……

Fan Xian pinched the metal bullet head, and for a moment, he was somewhat lost in thought. Only he and Fifth Bamboo knew about the things in that box. This bullet not only proved Xu Maocai's identity but also plunged him into a trance, as if he had returned to the Quanzhou seaside many years ago, where a young man who had just joined the navy had somehow gained the appreciation of the Ye family's master and received a treasure.

The Emperor was looking for that box, and Chen Pingping was also looking for that box, but no one had ever found it.

"How did you get it?" Fan Xian's smile was somewhat distant.

Xu Maocai may have recalled the past, and his eyes gradually turned red as he said softly, "Miss was throwing it around and playing with it on the beach. I thought it was made delicately, so I felt it was a bit of a pity..."

Twenty years ago on the Quanzhou seaside, a woman with an exquisite and peerless face was bored, took out an m82a1 bullet from her arms, and threw it into the sea, trying to hit a fish that was gradually sinking because of her beauty.

A young man beside her looked regretful. The woman smiled and casually threw one to him as a toy.

Yes, that was the scene at the time.

……

……

Fan Xian stood up, his two fingers slowly stroking the metal surface of the bullet, feeling the touch and streamline that did not belong to this world. He took a deep breath. At this moment, everyone else in the Governor's mansion seemed to disappear. The Jiaozhou Navy, the Eldest Princess, the Junshan Society, all faded from his mind like sea foam.

He was only thinking about this bullet, about the woman who used bullets as marbles back then, tilting her head slightly and then smiling, thinking that he had come from afar, perhaps to fulfill her appointment?

……

……

(Finally gradually finding the feeling again, at least it's my own feeling. I like to write like this, and I hope everyone likes to read it. Today is the first day of the month, and I sincerely invite everyone to cast the monthly tickets in their hands. At the same time, I sincerely thank everyone again for the monthly tickets you cast last month, which added 3,000 yuan to my bonus. Thank you very much. Monthly tickets are eagerly sought.)