Fan Xian smiled slightly. If the Eldest Princess, living in the palace, was in contact with Northern Qi, and the Emperor, who possessed countless secret agents, was completely unaware, it was simply unbelievable. He sighed and said, "So I don't understand why he still allows the Eldest Princess to live in the palace instead of sending her to her fief."

"The Eldest Princess is the Empress Dowager's most beloved youngest daughter, and his sister. Moreover, he doesn't need to be afraid of anything."

"How do you predict the Emperor will react to this event?" Fan Xian trusted Wu Zhu's analytical abilities.

"He will immediately mobilize the Overwatch Council to eliminate the impact you created, generously reward the Eldest Princess to demonstrate the solidarity of the royal family, and then find a suitable opportunity after things have calmed down to send the Eldest Princess back to her fief, Xinyang." Wu Zhu said coldly, "When rewarding the Eldest Princess, he will likely also reward the Morning County Princess and promote you at the same time."

Fan Xian smiled wryly, knowing that he was stating possible facts, but it sounded somewhat like a sardonic joke.

"Why didn't the Emperor think of using my simple method to force the Eldest Princess out of the palace, if, as you say, he already knew about the Eldest Princess's collusion with Northern Qi?"

"First, your method is very twisted. Second, he doesn't need to force his own sister out of the palace. He likes to wait for those potential figures hidden beneath the surface to emerge and then catch them all in one fell swoop. He is very accustomed to doing such things."

Fan Xian could tell that Wu Zhu had great faith in the Emperor's abilities, and his brow furrowed even tighter. Although the imperial family were all ruthless bastards, in comparison, the Emperor, whom he had met twice, was clearly gentler to him than the Eldest Princess. So Fan Xian subconsciously began to worry about the possible rebellion that might occur a few years later.

"So our actions are actually easing the situation in the palace? The Eldest Princess should still have allies in the palace, right?"

"I will investigate." Wu Zhu said indifferently.

Fan Xian thought for a moment and decided to proceed with the plan, saying with a wry smile, "I must find a way to get the Eldest Princess away from the court for a while, otherwise, before His Majesty the Emperor has had time to wipe out the other party, I myself will become a ghost under their hands. His Majesty the Emperor has the courage to wait, the strength to wait for the other party to act first, but we don't."

If a force that dared to collude with foreign countries became consumed by some kind of fanaticism to deal with Fan Xian, Fan Xian could only run behind Wu Zhu's back. Although traveling the world was what Fan Xian desired, he was unwilling to pay that price at the moment.

"I'm going."

"Go." Fan Xian waved his right arm, feeling that he indeed had the aura of a young student leader.

In his previous life, he had seen many films about the Anti-Japanese War and felt that Qing Kingdom at night was very much like Beiping under Japanese occupation. He and Wu Zhu were like those students who dared to resist the invaders, carefully handing out leaflets in the night, calling on the citizens of Qing Kingdom to rise up and resist those shameless rulers.

He smiled and lay back on the bed, leaving the box under the bed as it was. He wasn't worried at all. After Wu Zhu lost his memory in this area, he was the only one in the world who could open the box.

After falling asleep, he had a sweet dream. In early autumn, Kyoto was blanketed by a heavy snowfall. The Eldest Princess timidly boarded a carriage, glancing back at the imperial city with great sadness, and then left the world she lived in.

———————————————————————

In early autumn of the ninth month, Kyoto was indeed blanketed by a heavy snowfall. Countless white leaflets, like snowflakes, fluttered everywhere in Kyoto, especially near the Imperial College and the Wenyuan Pavilion, where they were inexhaustible. At dawn, the students and commoners who rose early picked up these unfamiliar pieces of paper and were shocked when they saw what was written.

This was the first time a leaflet war had appeared on the land of Qing Kingdom.

However, Fan Xian overestimated the patriotism of the citizens of Qing Kingdom and underestimated the control capabilities of the Overwatch Council and the Six Ministries. Within just two hours, all the leaflets in Kyoto had been collected and brought to that square government office by the flowing waters of Tianhe Road.

No one dared to keep a leaflet privately. Although the commoners rarely interacted with the Overwatch Council, out of fear of the council's notorious reputation, no one was willing to gamble with their lives and fortunes.

The head of the Imperial College also reacted swiftly, requesting an imperial decree that day to start the autumn examinations ahead of schedule.

Various measures were issued successively within half a day, finally successfully controlling the situation. However, rumors spread like wildfire, not needing wings to fly, not needing air to breathe. They had already spread throughout the streets and alleys of Kyoto. When people went out, they often exchanged glances, their eyes no longer expressing "Have you eaten?" but rather saying... "Have you seen it?"

The Eldest Princess's reputation in Qing Kingdom's Kyoto had never been very good. After all, she was over thirty years old and still unmarried, which was already quite strange in itself.

Therefore, although the commoners didn't necessarily fully believe the accusations on the leaflets about the Eldest Princess's collusion with foreign countries, they still thought that where there's smoke, there's fire. The logic of the neighborhood busybodies was even simpler: if a woman is so old and still not married, she definitely isn't a good woman.

The Qing Kingdom royal family was facing this kind of situation for the first time and couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous. Although the Overwatch Council had taken effective measures, the imperial palace was still uneasy. The palace maids and eunuchs deliberately made their footsteps lighter. It was said that His Majesty had flown into a rage in the imperial study, and the Empress Dowager had gone to Guangxin Palace. After several slaps, the Eldest Princess cried for a long time.

……

……

Inside a room in the Overwatch Council, there was a scene of quiet and awkward silence. The heads of the Eight Bureaus all looked at the seat of honor. Chen Pingping sat in his wheelchair, stroking the few hairs on his chin, looking at the leaflet and chuckling strangely.

Chen Pingping could laugh, but the heads below didn't dare to laugh. Everyone knew what was written on that leaflet.

"What do you think, how much of what's written on this paper is true?" Chen Pingping finally suppressed the joy in his heart and looked at his subordinates.

The first to bear the brunt was naturally the head of the Eighth Bureau. All the written products in Kyoto were now under his and the Education Institute's relevant responsibilities. He had been scared out of his wits ever since such a big event had occurred in Kyoto. So, before he could answer Director Chen's question, he rushed to report, "The paper is from the West Mountain Paper Mill, which is under the Internal Treasury's management. The ink is from the Wan Song Hall, which has no background."

Chen Pingping frowned, glanced at him, and reprimanded, "I'm just asking you if it's true or false, not who wrote it."

The head of the Eighth Bureau wiped the sweat from his forehead and cautiously replied, "Slandering the princess, talking nonsense about state affairs, stirring up trouble, naturally none of it is true."

Chen Pingping smiled, but his smile was somewhat cold. The window was still covered with black cloth, so the part where his wheelchair was located seemed a bit chilly. "All false?"

The leaflet said that the Eldest Princess had secretly agreed with Northern Qi to hand over Yan Bingyun, the head of Qing Kingdom's secret agents in Northern Qi, to the other party. Yan Ruohai, the head of the Fourth Bureau, frowned and said, "The matter of Yan Bingyun must have been leaked by someone in the court, and their rank must be extremely high. But if it's said to be the Eldest Princess, this subordinate really doesn't understand, what benefit would it bring her?"

"This leaflet says that a few nights ago, Zhuang Mohan and the Eldest Princess secretly met in Guangxin Palace." Chen Pingping said casually.

Yan Ruohai shook his head. "Great Scholar Zhuang was invited into the palace by the Empress Dowager to reside there. This cannot be used as evidence."

Chen Pingping looked at him with appreciation and said, "You can still analyze calmly even though Bingyun is imprisoned in Northern Qi. Not bad." He suddenly said in a deep voice, "However...you should suspect those who are suspicious. Don't forget that this council only pledges allegiance to His Majesty, to the royal family, but not to any single individual within the royal family."

His eyes calmly looked at the person sitting at the very back. That person was Zhu Ge, the head of the First Bureau of the Overwatch Council, who was in charge of monitoring officials in the court. He was the most powerful person in the Eight Bureaus of the Overwatch Council.

Zhu Ge nodded, frowning, "Including Yan Tou and me, there are only five people who know about the Yan Bingyun matter. If the Eldest Princess is involved in this matter, where did she get the information?"

Chen Pingping still looked at him quietly. The other seven high-ranking officials in the room gradually felt a strange atmosphere congeal.

After a long silence, Zhu Ge was still calm, occasionally frowning, as if he was thinking about where the Eldest Princess got the information if what was written on the paper was true. However, the head of the Eighth Bureau, who was sitting next to him, clearly saw a drop of sweat flowing from his temple.

Chen Pingping still looked at him calmly.

……

……

Zhu Ge frowned and suddenly said, "Director, why do you suspect me?"

Finally waiting for him to speak, Chen Pingping slowly closed his eyes and said faintly, "Because you are very foolish."

"Why can't it be Yan Ruohai? There are many examples of selling one's son for glory in this world." Zhu Ge knew from the day Yan Bingyun was captured that something was bound to happen to him. He smiled wryly and looked at Yan Ruohai.

"You are the head of the First Bureau. Fei Jie is also old. If I step down, logically it should be you who takes over this council." Chen Pingping said very calmly with his eyes closed, "It's a pity, you know I have other arrangements, so you are unwilling. The other party promised you the power of the Overwatch Council in the future… According to His Majesty's wishes, this interesting matter can still be watched for a while, but I didn't expect that this paper snowfall this morning would prematurely expose everything."

Chen Pingping said faintly, "So this council has no choice but to deal with it in advance."

"Thank you, Director, for your accomplishment." Zhu Ge knew that if His Majesty personally dealt with this matter, the result awaiting him would definitely be even more tragic. His throat gurgled twice, and he breathed more heavily with some difficulty.