The news regarding the Ministry of Justice spread like wildfire throughout Kyoto. Contrary to expectations, the anticipated counterattack from the three powerhouses—the Overwatch Council, the Prime Minister, and Minister Fan—against the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate did not immediately materialize, surprising all officials.

During the Palace Examination, His Majesty, the Emperor of Qing, finally subtly expressed his stance. Several individuals favored by Fan Xian were selected into the Second Class (二甲). As for the top three graduates—*zhuangyuan*, *bangyan*, and *tanhua*—they unsurprisingly belonged to established scholars. Fan Xian was also aware that these three names had appeared on those slips of paper, and he had subtly influenced the results during the blind judging.

A clearer indication of the Emperor's attitude towards the examination fraud case was the specific situation during the Palace Examination. During the celebratory banquet, officials were astonished to find Fan Xian, a Fifth-Rank *Fengzheng* from the Imperial College, awkwardly seated in the front row, below the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. He smiled shyly, seemingly not as unrestrained as the night he recited three hundred poems after drinking, perhaps unaccustomed to being the center of attention.

After Fan Xian's uproar in the Ministry of Justice, officials in Kyoto had long known his true identity. They also knew that the Overwatch Council, taking advantage of Fan Xian's special privileges as a supervisor, had completely stripped the Ministry of Justice Minister Han Zhiwei and Censorate Official Guo Zheng of their dignity. Rumor had it that there was quite a commotion in the palace that night as well.

Supervisor of the Overwatch Council, a rather sinister position. Officials found it difficult to associate Fan Xian with the role of someone who commanded countless secret agents and controlled the lives of officials in the shadows. Nevertheless, when officials looked at Fan Xian at this time, they no longer saw him merely as a literary official, a scion with a powerful background, but for the first time truly felt Fan Xian's strength.

After the Palace Examination, the Spring Examination fraud case continued to be handled by the Overwatch Council slowly but surely. The Supervisor Fan, however, quieted down. Those in the know guessed that Fan Xian was preparing for his mission abroad in a few days.

...

...

On the third day of the third month, after the Palace Examination, the celebratory banquet, and the flower arrangement ceremony, Yang Wanli, Hou Jichang, Cheng Jialin, and Shi Chanli, the four scholars who had suddenly received such great fortune, finally found a chance, and sat somewhat uneasily in a carriage, arriving at the gate of the Fan residence on South City Street.

Yang Wanli looked up at the Fan residence's opulent facade, nervously glancing at the fierce stone lions squatting at the gate, and muttered, "A bit nervous."

Hou Jichang was the most composed of the four, but coming to such a wealthy and noble residence for the first time, he was also somewhat apprehensive, forcing a smile and saying, "We've all met Master Fan. He's young and promising, and his conversation is also very interesting. He's not as repulsive as the other officials in the court. What's there to be nervous about?"

Cheng Jialin muttered beside him, unsure of what to say. After the uproar in the Ministry of Justice and the Overwatch Council a few days ago, in theory, the four of them had already been considered to be under Fan Xian's patronage. Now that the Palace Examination was over, they should have come to pay their respects to the Fan residence regardless. Thinking back to that day at the Tongfu Inn, these four scholars suddenly discovered that the most terrifying Overwatch Council in Qing was actually fighting with the yamen runners of the Thirteen Offices for them, which almost scared them to death.

Shi Chanli was the most gentle and unrestrained in nature. Since he didn't pass the examination this time, he seemed much more relaxed than the other three friends, pointing at them and laughing, "I think you are indeed quite nervous, but it's probably not the nervousness of visiting a mentor, but the realization that Master Fan has suddenly transformed into a supervisor of the Overwatch Council, which makes you feel a little fearful. Brothers, am I right?"

Yang Wanli glanced at the stone lion again, and said with a wry smile, "No one expected that in just a few days, the Immortal Poet Fan Xian would suddenly become one of the most powerful officials in the Overwatch Council. You all know how terrifying the Overwatch Council is, and these officials in the court have always been wary of it. Master Fan has entered the Overwatch Council, and his reputation is indeed not very good."

"Ignorant vulgar people's prejudice," Shi Chanli said with a smile, "You also said that day in the Tongfu Inn that the Overwatch Council is very beneficial in supervising officialdom." He turned to Hou Jichang, who was somewhat disapproving, and said, "After Minister Guo was imprisoned, you also raised a glass to the Overwatch Council. Why? Now that you've discovered that your mentor is a high-ranking official in the Overwatch Council, you're turning away like those vulgar people?"

Yang Wanli sighed and said, "Everyone in the world knows that Master Fan made the greatest contribution to the Spring Examination fraud case this time. Only later did we truly understand that he had been working for the Overwatch Council all along. Master Fan's move not only created a future for the three of us, but more importantly, it also paved a slightly fairer path for the scholars of the world. Everyone is grateful, and even after knowing that he is a supervisor of the Overwatch Council, no scholar dares to disrespect him in the slightest. As for the few of us, there's no need to say more. Even if Master Fan stays in the Overwatch Council in the future, we still have to follow him well. Brother Shi doesn't need to say much, I've already made up my mind."

Hou Jichang smiled slightly and said, "That's right. It's just a pity that, according to the court's rules, any special agent leader who serves in the Overwatch Council can never enter the cabinet and become a prime minister, which is a bit of a pity for Master Fan's talent."

At this moment, Cheng Jialin finally had a chance to interject, "Master Fan also has that identity, so his career would not be able to develop greatly in the first place. I heard that he will also be in charge of the Imperial Merchant Internal Treasury next year, so being able to enter the Overwatch Council is not a pity."

Everyone understood that he was referring to Fan Xian's identity as the "Princess Consort." Thinking that their extremely young mentor actually had so many identities, everyone felt it was quite wonderful. The four discussed in low voices at the gate of the Fan residence for a long time, finally dispelling some of the nervousness in their hearts, and walked towards the Fan residence, handing over the visiting cards that they had prepared.

The doorman of the Fan residence had long noticed these four scholar-like figures, and took the visiting cards with a suspicious look. After taking a look, he discovered that they were the four who had been rumored in Kyoto for a long time. The servants of the Fan residence knew that their young master had recently taken in four students. It turned out to be these four in front of them. They quickly respectfully invited them into the doorman's room and served them tea.

The four knew that this was the rule of a high-ranking family. Whenever a guest came to visit, they had to drink tea and wait for a report in the doorman's room first. Unexpectedly, after a while, the doorman returned with an embarrassed look and reported, "The young master went out today and is not in the residence. Gentlemen, would you like to leave a message, or come back another day?"

The four couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but deep down they inexplicably felt relieved. Just at this moment, an official sedan stopped beside the side door. The doorman quickly went forward to greet it. A middle-aged official with a solemn face and deep, intelligent eyes stepped out of the sedan. When he passed the doorman, he stopped and looked at the four scholars.

Seeing his master stop, the doorman was about to step forward to introduce them, but he saw his master wave his hand, turned to the four, and asked in a gentle voice, "Which of you is Yang Wanli? Which of you is Shi Chanli? Which of you is Hou Jichang? Which of you is Cheng Jialin?"

Hou Jichang was shocked, thinking that this official actually knew the identities of the four of them without asking, and didn't just ask for one person's name, but didn't miss a single one. He must not want to make them feel that he favored one over another. Such a clear-minded person, one could imagine that he must be Master Fan's father. He quickly bowed, "This junior is Hou Jichang, greetings to Minister Fan."

The other three beside him finally woke up at this time, knowing that the high-ranking official in front of them was Master Fan's father, and quickly saluted.

Count Sinan Fan Jian smiled slightly, looked at Hou Jichang, and said in a slightly approving and gentle voice, "It seems that Fan Xian's vision is indeed good." Then he said, "He's not at home. If you don't mind the old man being long-winded, come into the residence with me and chat for a while."

This is the mentor's father, what should we call him? Although the four scholars would be the emerging forces in the Qing court tomorrow, how dare they say more in front of this old fox of a minister? They obediently followed the official into the residence.

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That ugliest building on Tianhe Road remained silent in the spring light. There were no petals in the famous falling flowers and flowing water on both sides of the road, because it was still early in spring, and the flowers were not yet in full bloom, so they were naturally reluctant to throw their clothes into the water to create scenery.

The people of Kyoto still followed the old rules, staying far away from the Overwatch Council. The stone tablet in front of the courtyard gate quietly watched those people, as if saying, the courtyard is to protect you, why are you so afraid? Don't ask why the people are afraid of the Overwatch Council, just like the four scholars of Yang Wanli, people's fear of secret service agencies is always without reason, because that yamen seems to have no light, and seems to possess only secrets and darkness.

In that square room of the Overwatch Council, the seven leaders were gathering their minds and sitting around a long table. They knew that today's meeting was special, so their gazes towards the limping Director Chen Pingping at the end of the long table were filled with some questions. After Zhu Ge, the leader of the First Bureau, committed suicide in this room, the First Bureau had been without a leader. Mu Tie was only temporarily leading the duties in Kyoto, so there were only seven people in the Eight Bureaus today.

The door opened slightly and silently, but these seven most powerful figures in the Qing secret service agency naturally noticed it, subconsciously turned their heads to look at the door, and even Chen Pingping at the end of the long table slowly raised his head, his eyes calm and bright.

An old man with slightly brown eyes and messy hair walked in, hunched over.

Everyone was slightly surprised, but they saw Fei Jie turn his body and said softly, "An ugly daughter-in-law always has to meet her in-laws. Come in, what are you dawdling about?"

The young man behind him flashed out somewhat embarrassed. This young man had a delicate appearance, was pleasing to the eye, and had a slightly shy smile on his face. He cupped his hands and bowed to the heads of the Overwatch Council at the table, and said softly with some embarrassment, "Hello everyone, good morning, I am Fan Xian."