"What is it?" Fan Xian knew it must be something serious, otherwise Li Hongcheng wouldn't be so tense, but he still forced a smile and said, "As long as your grape trellis hasn't fallen down."

It was strange to say, Li Hongcheng had long been of marriageable age, but for some reason, he had never taken a wife.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes," Li Hongcheng said with a grave face. "Yesterday, a murder occurred at a manor at the foot of Cang Mountain. Wu Bo'an and the Prime Minister's second son, Lin Gong, are both dead."

Fan Xian was shocked and asked, "What?"

Li Hongcheng said, "That's right, your future brother-in-law is dead."

Fan Xian didn't think about the complicated family relationships at that moment. He felt a little panicked. Wu Bo'an's death was within his expectations, but... if it wasn't Uncle who acted but someone was covering it up, they wouldn't have sacrificed the Prime Minister's second son. Fan Xian was aware of his own worth; he was far from being as valuable as that brother-in-law. Since Wu Bo'an and that brother-in-law died together, did that mean the last time someone tried to kill him... it was his future father-in-law, the Prime Minister?

He had no affection for this brother-in-law he had never met, but thinking about the consequences, he couldn't help but feel troubled. After calming down slightly, he asked, "How did they die?"

Li Hongcheng recounted the scene of the discovery. Because the manor was so remote, the murder probably wouldn't have been discovered for a long time, but unexpectedly, the third day happened to be the day the mountain official posted the notices. Upon entering the manor, they saw corpses everywhere and reported it level by level in great alarm. Because the deceased was the Prime Minister's son, and Wu Bo'an, with his special status, the news went through the Kyoto Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice directly to the imperial palace.

Jing Wang entered the palace today and happened to hear the news, so he asked a familiar eunuch in the palace to pass the message back.

Fan Xian's heart stirred. Jing Wang must know that he would be a guest at the Wang residence today. Risking having someone pass the message back, it seemed that he wanted to inform him. But why did the other party think he needed this information? Seeing his expression, Li Hongcheng lowered his voice and said, "The Supervisory Council is looking for Wu Bo'an. I heard it's related to your assassination attempt. This time, his death is so peculiar. Be careful others suspect you."

Fan Xian pretended to be startled and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "This has nothing to do with me. The Supervisory Council couldn't even find him, how could I find him? If the Prime Minister really believes this, how will I survive in Kyoto in the future?"

Li Hongcheng saw that his expression didn't seem fake and breathed a sigh of relief: "If you really did it, I'd have to reassess your strength and try to please you in the future."

Fan Xian was already quite familiar with him and scolded with a smile, "What kind of nonsense is that? I only pray that the Prime Minister doesn't connect his son's death with me. I'll have to burn incense."

Li Hongcheng said, "It shouldn't be. Your explanation was very convincing. Even Director Chen couldn't catch him. It's even more impossible for you to catch him after just arriving in Kyoto. Even if you caught him, you wouldn't kill someone recklessly just to avenge a personal grudge." He looked at Fan Xian seriously and said, "I believe you. I'll speak up for you to my father. I believe the Prime Minister won't act rashly either."

Fan Xian sighed and said, "I'm afraid the Prime Minister will first have to find a way to explain why the second son was with Wu Bo'an. You know, Wu Bo'an is connected to spies from Northern Qi. The crime of treason has been confirmed."

Li Hongcheng nodded, looking slightly worried and said, "It's just that the Prime Minister lost his son in his old age and suffered this blow. If his political enemies attack him on the matter of Wu Bo'an, I'm afraid his days will be difficult."

Fan Xian secretly glanced at the Prince. He thought to himself, aren't you and the Second Prince the Prime Minister's political enemies? Why do you have to say it so lightly and not let it bother you?

After leaving the Jing Wang residence and getting into the carriage, Fan Ruoruo noticed that her brother's face looked a little strange and asked with concern, "Are you not feeling well? Or did you get too much sun earlier?" Fan Sizhe also came over to join in, handing Fan Xian the folding fan in his hand in a flattering manner.

Fan Xian felt uneasy, so he was more irritable. He said impatiently, "It's nothing!" After saying that, he realized that his tone was not quite right and explained with a wry smile, "There are some troublesome things. I have to think about it. Don't worry about me for now."

After entering the Fan residence, Fan Xian first ran to his father's study, but found that his father wasn't home. Perhaps he had been summoned to the palace.

He returned to his room uneasily. When he sat down at the table, he realized that his back was already soaked. In fact, when Li Hongcheng recounted the deaths of Wu Bo'an and the Prime Minister's second son at the manor, Fan Xian knew who had done it. In this world, no one was more familiar with Fifth Uncle's methods and the traces he left behind than him.

After Fan Xian found out Wu Bo'an's name in the Tianlao prison that night, he knew that Wu Bo'an was already a dead man—he just didn't expect Lin Wan'er's second brother to die with him.

Although he didn't know how Fifth Uncle found that Mr. Wu, given Fifth Uncle's cold and indifferent nature, stabbing to death the two masterminds behind the attempt to harm Fan Xian was a very normal thing. Fifth Uncle was a grandmaster-level expert. In his eyes, what Prime Minister's son was he, maybe just a flesh and blood body, like the assassin from Danzhou who came to kill him. As long as it didn't involve Fan Xian, Fifth Uncle's iron rod had no taboos.

Fan Xian's uneasiness lay in the fact that since even Jing Wang thought he was related to Lin Gong's death, what would the Prime Minister think? He wanted to avenge the deaths of the guards that day and his and Teng Zijing's serious injuries. He had also thought that the mastermind behind the scenes might be the Prime Minister, his future father-in-law. If that were the case, Fan Xian thought he would only kill Wu Bo'an to warn the other party, but he didn't expect Lin Wan'er's second brother to die so cleanly. The Lin family only had two sons, and he heard that the older one had some problems...

Thinking of Lin Wan'er, Fan Xian had another headache. Even if Wan'er had grown up in the palace since she was a child and had no feelings for the Lin family, they were still blood relatives after all, a fact that could not be undone.

He stood up and walked around the table twice, his eyes gradually becoming firm. He made up his mind that he could never let Wan'er know about this matter in his life, never let her know that his uncle killed her brother.

—————————————————————————————

Deep within the solemn and majestic imperial palace, the room where the most powerful person in the world resided was far less impressive than the territory he governed. The incense in the treasure cauldron gradually dissipated, leaving only thick accumulated ash. The setting sun slanted in through the door, and the willow catkins flying in could be counted in the light.

The room was paved with light-colored stone bricks, and a dozen or so high-ranking officials stood on either side. Today was not a formal court meeting, so this was not the Taiji Palace, but just a side hall. Qing’s great emperor was not sitting on the high dragon throne either, but just casually picked up a chair to sit on.

The emperor was wearing a water-green silk casual suit today, with a coiled dragon gold silk belt tied around his waist. His dark hair was tightly tied, but occasionally a few strands of silver could be found at the temples. He just sat casually in the chair, lower than the ministers standing around, but his aura was like sitting at the highest end of the world, overlooking the thousands of subjects under his feet.

Today's state affairs were over, and those left in the room were a few veteran ministers and important ministers.

Chen Pingping was in the first position on the left. Because of his physical condition, he was sitting in a wheelchair, so he looked very special. His head was drooping listlessly, as if he was about to fall asleep. These ministers knew that Director Chen, who was the emperor's most trusted confidant, had once received an express order not to attend routine court meetings, but today's meeting was a must.

Prime Minister Lin Ruofu was in the first position on the right. He also had special treatment today, sitting on a round stool, but his official uniform was a bit long, so he looked a bit comical. This notoriously treacherous prime minister was actually born with delicate features and bright eyes. Only his slightly white beard revealed his true age. He must have been a handsome man when he was young.

Today, his eyes were a little red and swollen, and his lips were a little pale, presumably he had cried earlier.

"Prime Minister, please accept my condolences," the emperor said softly, and the buzzing echo in the room sounded. "You should rest in the mansion for a few days and... send off that child."

Lin Ruofu stood up, respectfully bowed, and said with a sob, "Your old subject dare not. My son's matter has already disturbed Your Majesty, which is a crime."

The ministers of the various departments also advised the old prime minister in gentle words, saying that the dead cannot be brought back to life.

Lin Ruofu suddenly said loudly, "I dare to ask Your Majesty to be the master for this old subject, to seek justice for that dead child!" After saying this, he knelt down straight. After learning of the death of his second son at noon today, the prime minister, who had always had a heart of stone, almost fainted. How could one withstand such emotional shock, the so-called white-haired person sending off the black-haired person.

The corners of the emperor's lips curled up imperceptibly, but no one dared to stare at the face of the Son of Heaven, so no one noticed this small detail. The Emperor seemed a little surprised by the Prime Minister's statement: "Since the Fan family's boy was attacked the other day, such a murder has occurred again near Kyoto. The Kyoto Prefecture is naturally responsible. Prime Minister, rest assured, I will severely punish them to give you an explanation... The various departments must seize the time to arrest the murderers, with the Ministry of Justice taking the lead. If there are any uncoordinated matters, Director Chen will lead from the side."

Chen Pingping, who seemed to be asleep, opened his eyes at this time and responded with a smile.

Lin Ruofu's eyes flashed with two beams of light, but they disappeared in an instant. He kowtowed to the emperor before standing up with the persuasion of the crowd.

The emperor looked at him calmly. Qing did not pay much attention to the etiquette in front of the palace. This Supreme Being knew that the Prime Minister's kowtow was not easy to accept, and suddenly frowned and said: "In the previous matter, there was a shadow of Northern Qi thieves, intending to cause turmoil in the court. Could it be that foreign thieves sneaked in to commit crimes this time? Is the current ban so sparse? Pass the decree and order the Three Northern Divisions to examine themselves well."

He suddenly scolded sharply: "Chen Pingping, you must also put some heart into your academy affairs. Are the offices eating free rice! You took an extra month to return home to visit relatives this time. Do you want the sons and daughters of the court ministers to die in vain before you are willing to come back!"

The Son of Heaven was furious, and the whole hall was silent.