Fan Xian ordered the arrest of Dai Zhen, precisely because the eunuch head stood behind him.

The officials in the capital, upon discovering that even Eunuch Dai had capitulated so readily, were naturally intimidated by the determination of the First Bureau of the Supervisory Council and Director Fan's methods. The work of the First Bureau proceeded methodically and discreetly within the capital. Following the established custom, they broke down doors in the dead of night, silently escorting those officials back to the Council.

This sudden rectification campaign brought a chill, not particularly pleasant, to the capital. The officials initially thought that this talented scholar was about to stir up another storm in the capital, just like the case in the spring. But gradually, people realized that this wasn't the case. The officials investigated in this campaign were of relatively low rank, with no important figures from various factions involved, and no large-scale cases with extensive implications.

The senior officials in the court and the retainers of the various princes, out of consideration for Fan Xian and the warning example of Eunuch Dai, did not make any drastic reactions. As time went on, they discovered that this storm did not involve the vital parts of the officialdom, but was just some scattered tinkering. The officials, who had been somewhat anxious, relaxed, guessing that Fan Xian was merely a new appointee using his initial authority to establish his power.

Although the fire was not large, some people were still worried about being affected. Therefore, in recent days, Liu Shi had become the busiest person in the Fan residence. Her hands, which used to pass over a silver note without any hint of worldliness, now received silver notes with a compassionate and understanding air. Naturally, she transferred all these silver notes to Fan Xian, who picked out most of them to distribute to the First Bureau and sent the rest to the Yan residence.

From ancient times to the present, from Fan Shen's world to Fan Xian's world, money has always been the supreme weapon for winning hearts and minds, as well as for pacifying them.

Therefore, the staff of the First Bureau of the Supervisory Council worked with greater enthusiasm, and the officials from various factions who had successfully made intimate contact with the Shangshu’s wife's fingers also felt much more at ease—those who gave money and those who received money, each comforting the other.

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With affairs already on track, Fan Xian did not go to the New Wind Pavilion today, but sat in his own study, flipping through the case files in his hand. The case files were compiled by Mu Tie. Although the writing style was not exquisite, it was clear and organized.

Eunuch Dai's nephew, after paying a large fine, finally managed to escape from the Supervisory Council unscathed. He exploited a loophole in the Qing law, avoiding transfer to the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple. However, his position as a minor official in the Vegetables Inspection Department was naturally gone. The other minor cases were also handled relatively leniently.

Logically speaking, since the Supervisory Council was investigating the case of the Vegetables Inspection Department, Dai Zhen would have not only lost his official hat but also his head. However, Fan Xian somewhat appreciated Eunuch Dai's discretion and his help in reducing some future troubles for himself. Furthermore, Ye Ling'er had quietly entered the palace to speak on his behalf, conveying a plea from Consort Shu – this favor naturally had to be returned.

Shi Chanli looked at his young “disciple” across the desk, feeling somewhat uneasy. After the spring imperial examination, his three friends, Hou Jichang, Yang Wanli, and Cheng Xilin, had been sent out to serve as officials, and according to their letters, they were doing well in various prefectures and routes. Prime Minister Lin had been in the court for many years, and naturally relationships were spread throughout the prefectures and routes. These people were now watching Fan Xian, and naturally they would take extra care of Fan Xian's three “prized students.”

Of the four, only he was not on the list and could not immediately embark on an official career to show his skills. Before Fan Xian went to Northern Qi, he had left him a letter, telling him to wait for his return. Unexpectedly, after Fan Xian returned, he immediately took over the affairs of the First Bureau of the Supervisory Council. Shi Chanli really didn't know what he could do to help his teacher. Thinking that his friends had already become shepherds of one region, while he could only sit in the study copying case files, even though he was extremely open-minded, he couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Fan Xian raised his head, glanced at him, and said with a smile, “Do you feel it's a bit too boring?”

Shi Chanli smiled wryly and said, “Teacher is a few years younger than me, but he can be so steady in dealing with tedious official documents. It seems that I also need to temper my character.”

Fan Xian chuckled and thought to himself that if Hou Jichang were here, he would definitely stand up to answer, and if it were Yang Wanli, he might have already couldn't help but ask himself why he had privately released a serious offender. Only this Shi Chanli was not impatient or impetuous, yet his words were not dull. It seemed that his initial decision to keep him by his side was not a mistake.

“Don't call me 'Teacher' anymore,” he said. “I'd rather you call me 'Your Honor.' It's not that I'm too official, but it just feels a bit absurd.”

Shi Chanli was stunned. In fact, it was very common in this world for the examinee to be younger than the chief examiner. He himself didn't feel that there was anything wrong.

Fan Xian handed over the case file on the desk and asked, “What are your views?”

Shi Chanli didn't know if His Honor was testing him, but he had already memorized these official documents thoroughly in the past two days. He shook his head and sincerely said, “Student really doesn't understand what Teacher… His Honor is doing. If you really want to hunt tigers, you wouldn't always be staring at these mice.”

Fan Xian said with a smile, “I'm just finding some things for the cats in the First Bureau to do, to familiarize themselves with the work, so that they won't be too flustered when they really do big things in the future.”

Shi Chanli pretended not to hear the word "big things" and sincerely asked for guidance, “Your Honor, serving as an official in the court naturally requires sharing the worries of the Sage Emperor and doing things for the court. But looking at Your Honor's actions these days, although you are catching the small and releasing the large, you have still offended some people.”

“Offending people is an inherent characteristic of the Supervisory Council,” Fan Xian explained. “You also know that the Supervisory Council is His Majesty's private institution, not a public instrument in the true sense, but rather the Sage Emperor's private instrument. We only have one object of loyalty, so whether from the perspective of the palace or the Supervisory Council itself, we must play the role of offending people… And the First Bureau is deep in the capital, hindered by the prosperity of the capital, and has completely lost His Majesty's original intention, not strong enough, not ruthless enough. His Majesty asked me to manage the First Bureau, naturally wanting the First Bureau to return to its original role of daring to offend people.”

Shi Chanli could no longer pretend to be anything. His Honor had spoken to him so frankly that he could only honestly reply, “His Majesty wants Your Honor… to be a solitary minister.”

Fan Xian nodded, “Unbiased and impartial, His Majesty wants me to become the second Chen Pingping, but…” He changed the subject, speaking with a hint of sarcasm, “I visited the Director's residence. The residence is extravagantly luxurious, surpassing even those of princes, but that innate aloofness is really not to my liking.”

Shi Chanli immediately understood his meaning and said with worry, “But if Your Honor is insincere, the Sage Emperor's eyes are as bright as torches and he will naturally see it clearly, and I am afraid it will be detrimental to Your Honor's future.”

Fan Xian smiled and said nothing, thinking that the old Emperor probably wouldn't have thoughts that were even more poisonous than a tiger under normal circumstances.

Shi Chanli also realized that he had said too much and changed the topic, saying, “The First Bureau is now investigating cases, and although it has returned to the tradition of the past, starting to arrest people at night, Your Honor has always been unwilling to conceal the news, and you have truthfully informed anyone who inquires… Student really doesn't agree.”

Fan Xian asked with interest, “Why?”

Shi Chanli pondered for a moment and then said, “The Supervisory Council is His Majesty's special agency. The reason why it can intimidate the officials is not only because of the special privileges stipulated by the Qing law, but also because of its mysterious and… dark feeling. The world is ignorant, and the more they don't understand something, the more afraid they will be. Your Honor is now deliberately placing the actions of the First Bureau on the stage, and I am afraid that this will weaken this feeling and make the court and the public look down on the Supervisory Council.”

Fan Xian admitted that what he said made sense, but still said, “I know that you don't agree with some of the clauses in the new regulations of the First Bureau, such as the publication of news. I also admit that if the Supervisory Council continues to maintain the image of a man-eating demon in the dark, it will be of great convenience to our actions.”

Shi Chanli was somewhat surprised that his teacher would agree with his views, and wondered if it was because he was unwilling for the world to regard him as a ghost and wanted to change his image.

Fan Xian's next words immediately overturned his imagination, “I don't care how the world views the Supervisory Council… But you must be clear that I am now only in charge of the First Bureau, not the entire Council. The First Bureau is located in the capital, and except for those spies planted in the residences of the princes, all matters cannot be hidden at all. There are as many officials in the capital as dogs and swimming fish, and there are countless connections between everyone… Since there is no way to maintain the First Bureau's mystery, then I might as well do it openly, perhaps this will add more deterrence.”

He continued seriously, “However, I only require that the results of the investigation be presented openly, and I do not require that the process be so. I can accept any dark methods used in the middle… You should be clear that I do not want to become a saint.”

Shi Chanli nodded, feeling extremely relieved. It seemed that his teacher was indeed a person who dared to expose the evils of officialdom, but he was temporarily reserved.

Fan Xian looked at him, not knowing the other party's opinion of him, and said, “From today onwards, for every case handled by the First Bureau, after the case is closed and sent to the Dali Temple or the Ministry of Justice, you must write a charter, explaining the cause of the case in detail, and then announce it to the public. I have already chosen the place to post the announcement, which is on the wall between the First Bureau and the Dali Temple.”

Shi Chanli was dumbfounded and said, “This… this… this doesn't comply with the rules, does it? It's neither a wanted notice issued by the Ministry of Justice, nor a notice issued by the court. The Supervisory Council… is also issuing announcements?!”

Fan Xian said angrily, “It's not the Supervisory Council, it's the First Bureau! Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to be more open? Are you preparing to have me write a novel and sell it everywhere?”

Shi Chanli immediately responded with joy, “This is the best way. It can resolve the people's confusion and can also slightly maintain the feeling of not approaching strangers in the First Bureau… Moreover, Your Honor has opened a bookstore, so it is most convenient to do so.”

Fan Xian spat out a mouthful of turbid air in anger and got up to walk out. Shi Chanli followed him carefully and finally couldn't help but ask, “Teacher, does this mean that student is starting to work in the Supervisory Council?”

Fan Xian sighed, knowing that the scholars of the world were still unwilling to enter the gloomy and shameless spy agency. He patted him on the shoulder and said, “You are my private secretary. I will tell my father and temporarily hang you in the Ministry of Revenue. We'll discuss it another day. Don't worry, no one will point at your back and say you are the evil dog of the Supervisory Council.”

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Walking in the surprisingly large garden in the back of the Fan residence, Fan Xian frowned, “Achieving bright results through dark means?” He did not consider himself to be the kind of saint who would wrong himself. Although he was very willing to do some things for the citizens of Qing, to slightly curb the corrupt atmosphere of the officialdom, and at least ensure that the embankment of the great river in the south would not collapse so rapidly, the rectification of the First Bureau was more out of his selfishness.

Because although he wore the name of a poetry immortal, and now had the secret praise of a new generation of literary leaders, when it collided with the twenty years of accumulated filth in the Supervisory Council, it would always damage his reputation. Therefore, he wanted to make the First Bureau brighter, because a good reputation would help him a lot in the future.

Thinking of that sentence about darkness and light, he couldn't help but think of that sentence he said when chatting with Haitang in Northern Qi, “The black night gave me black eyes… but I will use them to roll my eyes at this world.” He couldn't help but worry about the situation in the north, wondering if Haitang could arrange the matter he had instructed—Uncle Wu Zhu was still missing, and Ku He had not returned to Shangjing.

In the distance in the garden, there were faintly a few young women chatting. Today was a sunny day, and the grasshoppers after autumn were desperately jumping in the green grass. The cicadas on the trees were also desperately chirping, taking advantage of the last time of their cicada life, drowning out the voices of the women. Da Bao was catching ants near the courtyard wall, and Fan Sizhe hadn't gone to the clan school, but he wasn't at home either.

Fan Xian squinted his eyes and saw that Ye Ling'er had come again today, and couldn't help but secretly lament. This girl felt that she had done Fan Xian a great favor, and had been coming to the residence to play these days without any courtesy. When he discovered that the person sitting next to Ye Ling'er was the shy Princess Roujia, he felt even more bitter. The twelve-year-old girl had become thirteen… but she was still a little girl, and Fan Xian didn't want to be stared at by the admiring eyes of a little girl.

Recently, he had refused Li Hongcheng's invitations several times. Yan Bingyun hadn't been investigated yet, so he had to avoid him first. And today he had to avoid Roujia, the little Lolita who secretly harbored affection for him. He circulated the true qi in his body, and the young Director Fan's body became lighter. He displayed the light body technique he had practiced under the shadow of the stick, flying over the yellow grass and silently leaping out of the residence.

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Arriving at the house on Shen Zheng Street in the capital that Wang Qinian had bought for one hundred and twenty taels of silver, Fan Xian sat in the innermost room and comfortably stretched himself. This was his most secret lair. Except for the Qinian Group and Chen Pingping, even the people at home didn't know that he often handled official and private affairs here.

Deng Ziyue solemnly placed two bamboo tubes on the table and then withdrew. He knew that he was not as trusted by Director Fan as Wang Qinian, so he consciously left the room.

The colors of the bamboo tubes were very similar. Perhaps they were all produced at the foot of Yanshan Mountain near Shangjing. The fire lacquer used to seal them was also similar. They were all complete and should not have been tampered with. However, the secret marks on the bamboo joints allowed the secret agents of the Supervisory Council responsible for transmitting intelligence to know that these two extremely secret letters belonged to two independent routes in the northern system.

Fan Xian picked up the bamboo tubes. First, he carefully confirmed that no one had opened them. Wang Qinian's calligraphy on the fire lacquer, which had a lot of Pan Ling's charm, was indeed not easy to imitate. Only then did he open the bamboo tubes with peace of mind and take out the two letters inside.

One letter was from Si Lili, and the other letter was from Haitang. In order to facilitate contact with Haitang, Fan Xian had specially set up a communication line for her.

Si Lili did not send any important intelligence. Although she had converted to the Tianyi Dao according to Fan Xian and Haitang's plan, her efforts to enter the palace had not yet been successful. In Shangjing City, the fall of the Shen family not only severely打击ed the 後黨勢力, but also did not cause too much of a reaction. Shang Shanhu had also been confined at home. However, the end of the letter said that the Northern Qi national teacher Ku He had returned to Shangjing and had been in seclusion ever since. Although no one dared to suspect anything, Si Lili firmly believed that the peerless powerhouse must have been injured.

Fan Xian smiled. In this world, the only people who could fight with that man-eating monster Ku He were those two or three Grand Masters.

Haitang's letter did not mention even half a word about the Grand Master – he and Haitang had a mutual exchange of information, so it was not worth expecting her to say anything. She was just concerned about whether the auspicious event had been arranged properly.

After thinking about it, he began to write a reply, urging Haitang to fulfill the agreement she had made at the time. This matter was just a matter of convenience for Haitang, but it had extremely important significance for Fan Xian. In the reply to Si Lili, he simply copied a short poem by Li Qingzhao to express his condolences and did not say much else.

In fact, during these days of handling the affairs of the First Bureau, Fan Xian had been thinking most about the marriage of Ruoruo and Li Hongcheng. This matter did not depend on the character of the young duke, or whether there were conflicts in the political positions of the two sides. For Fan Xian, there was only one crucial point.

Did his younger sister like him?

Ruoruo had already expressed her attitude that she did not like him – although Fan Xian, like all older brothers, had some inexplicable anger at girls in adolescence, wondering if she would never marry, he had more of a protective instinct from the bottom of his heart. Since his younger sister did not like him, he would start to break this marriage, which was a very simple principle.

This was not a small matter. It could even be said that it was the most troublesome thing Fan Xian had encountered since coming to the capital from Danzhou. The Sage Emperor had arranged the marriage, the families were well-matched, and there was no reason to stop the marriage.

Therefore, he could only start from two aspects: one, keep an eye on the Second Prince and be ready to bring him down, dragging down Li Hongcheng. Then, asking for the annulment of the marriage might be possible. Two, starting from Ruoruo's side, give an incentive that even the Emperor could not ignore, temporarily keeping Ruoruo away from the capital.

The former method would cause a lot of commotion, and the latter method was too ethereal. Even Fan Xian himself didn't have much confidence.

"People say that one general's success is built on ten thousand skeletons, does that mean I have to start an event where one marriage annulment is built on ten thousand skeletons?"

He laughed self-deprecatingly, thinking that if it really didn't work out by then, he would have to trouble Uncle Wu Zhu to take Ruoruo to wander around the world. He thought that His Majesty couldn't really execute the entire Fan family because of this matter.