"Everything is for the Qing Kingdom."
"Everything for Qing Kingdom?"
Yuan Hongdao sat in the carriage, heading toward the Eldest Princess' fief of Xinyang. In his heart, he felt the absurdity of the words he had kept in the depths of his heart for so many years.
Many years ago, when the Eldest Princess began to like the Prime Minister, Yuan Hongdao, as one of the first secret members of the Second Bureau of the Overwatch Council, accepted Chen Pingping's arrangements. He had a new identity and a new life. Gradually, he became good friends with Lin Ruofu, who at the time was not very prominent.
At that time, it was just a chance encounter between two scholars.
Back then, Lin Ruofu had been high-spirited and vigorous, while Yuan Hongdao had been steady and honest. After experiencing all sorts of coincidences arranged by the Council, they had finally become so-called "close friends." As the years passed, Lin Ruofu, with the support of the Eldest Princess, had a smooth journey in the officialdom. Yuan Hongdao, on the other hand, was willing to stay by Lin Ruofu's side as an informant. Even when Lin Ruofu hinted countless times that he could make Yuan Hongdao an official, he only smiled faintly and refused.
Because of this, Lin Ruofu regarded him as the only true friend in his life. It was just that the Prime Minister didn't expect this friend of his to be carrying another mission from the very beginning.
Yuan Hongdao had actually gradually adapted to this kind of life because the Council had never given him any missions, and the few people who knew his identity had always kept their distance. During these years, the only thing Yuan Hongdao had helped the Overwatch Council do was help the Second Young Master Lin of the Cang Mountain Side Courtyard lie after he had been killed and frame Dongyi for the Overwatch Council.
Lin Ruofu believed him because he was the one who said it.
Yuan Hongdao had only betrayed Lin Ruofu once in his life, and it was enough for the Prime Minister to dejectedly withdraw from the court. This was the Emperor's will. Through the Overwatch Council, he was told to carry it out.
Perhaps the betrayal of his old friend had made the Prime Minister see the world clearly, so the next day he could not be stopped from entering the palace. He even turned a blind eye to Fan Jian's repeated hints. As for the future of the Lin family, the Prime Minister had placed all his hopes on his son-in-law, Fan Xian. Naturally, he did not want to drag his in-laws into this mess.
In the middle of the third month, the Minister of the Board of Rites, Guo You, died, and the Minister of the Board of Punishments, Han Zhiwei, was demoted. The Prime Minister asked for forgiveness and retired. His Majesty tried to persuade him to stay, but to no avail.
All of the Imperial Censorate's actions regarding Wu Bo 'an's case had disappeared, and Lady Wu's whereabouts were unknown. His Majesty had decreed that He Zongwei was talented and virtuous. He was to enter the palace and be rewarded. He was exempted from the examination and appointed as the Imperial Censor.
— —
"Why?" Fan Xian sat in the carriage and gently flicked the piece of paper in his hand. This was a report from the Overwatch Council regarding the developments in the court. As the Commissioner, although he was far away on the Northern border, he had only received the news from Jingdou a few days later than other places.
Of course, his father-in-law was not a good official in the purest sense of the word. He was not called a treacherous prime minister for nothing, but Fan Xian still felt that it was absurd. He was the prime minister of a country, and yet he had been silently defeated in the bureaucratic struggle of the Qing Kingdom!
Fan Xian had to think about the future. Although it seemed that his father-in-law, the prime minister, had not been of much help to him in the past year, he knew that the reason the civil officials of the court had always been patient with him, including the spring examination case, was because of his father-in-law. Other than the two ministers who had already fallen, Fan Xian had never encountered a real challenge in the bureaucracy of the Qing Kingdom.
Fan Xian's question was directed at Xiao En, who was chained and unable to dance.
"Why?" Xiao En analyzed coldly. "Because you made a move. The Emperor of the Qing Kingdom took the opportunity to weaken the power of the civil officials. But how could just two ministers satisfy the Emperor's appetite? You are the son-in-law of the prime minister, and your reputation has spread far and wide. If the Emperor really wants you to take charge of the Overwatch Council in the future, then for the sake of safety, the prime minister must quickly step down."
"As for how to step down …" Xiao En laughed mockingly. "If an Emperor wants an official to step down, there are countless ways. Besides, your Emperor has always been a strange man who likes to use the Overwatch Council. "
The reason why the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom was a strange man was because the Overwatch Council was too powerful, and yet the Emperor still trusted Chen Pingping. This was an anomaly.
Fan Xian shook his head. "There is something strange about this case. Even if my father-in-law was pained by the death of my second brother, he had many ways to make Wu Bo 'an die without descendants. As for the assassination of Lady Wu in the capital, it just so happened that the second prince and Li Hongcheng ran into each other. Such a foolish method is far from my father-in-law's ability. "
"There is a traitor at the prime minister's side," Xiao En said lightly. "As for whether it is the Eldest Princess's people or your Emperor's people, in truth … it makes no difference."
Fan Xian wasn't sure. "To be able to force my father-in-law to step down, there must be concrete evidence. My father-in-law is a cautious man. How could he allow a spy from a hostile power to come into contact with such important matters?"
He had no idea that the one who had betrayed his father-in-law was that Mister Yuan Hongdao, and he had no idea that the Overwatch Council was behind this.
Xiao En laughed with some satisfaction. "How much do you, young man, know about what is hidden in the darkness?" He had the right to say this. Back then, the civil strife in the Kingdom of Qing had been orchestrated by this old man. If not for the sudden deaths of the two princes, perhaps the Kingdom of Qing would no longer exist.
Fan Xian's eyelids twitched. In his conversations with Xiao En these past few days, he had discovered that although he had been imprisoned for many years and did not know the distribution of power in the Kingdom of Qing, Xiao En could clearly see where the problem lay when Fan Xian explained it to him. He had even guessed exactly what kind of punishment the officials involved would receive in the spring examination case.
Xiao En had once said that the Prime Minister would step down because of this. But there had been no warning, and the spring examination case did not involve the Prime Minister's manor. The Eldest Princess, who had a broken relationship with the Prime Minister, was far away in Xinyang, so Fan Xian did not believe him … Unexpectedly, Xiao En had guessed correctly. Fan Xian couldn't help but be shocked at the old man's vicious insight. Only now did he realize that his reputation was well-deserved.
Fan Xian sighed. Looking at the old man, he suddenly said, "I'm more and more curious. Why didn't the Overwatch Council kill you immediately after they caught you?"
"Because I have a lot of useful things in my head."
"Then at least they could have been more ruthless," said Fan Xian. "Like cutting off your five limbs."
"What do you mean by five limbs?" Xiao En was a little curious. "Everything has a bottom line. When things exceed the bottom line I can endure, I think, at least I still have the ability to kill myself. But you … are not willing to pay that price."
Fan Xian raised his eyebrows in thought. This was indeed the case. He got up and saluted him, then got out of the carriage.
He stood next to the carriage, looking at the fresh reeds floating by the lake in the distance. He vaguely understood the Emperor's true meaning. The court needed new blood. As the saying goes, flowing water never rots. The Prime Minister had been in his position for too long. Fan Xian's sudden rise in the capital made the matter of the Prime Minister's removal even more urgent.
There was no noble in the palace who would allow the Prime Minister, the head of all officials, to have a son-in-law in charge of the Overwatch Council. If the Emperor really wanted to put Fan Xian in an important position in the coming year, then the Prime Minister had to leave … otherwise, Fan Xian would be suppressed. But Fan Xian knew that the unfamiliar Emperor would not truly suppress him.
If Fan Xian was the wave at the back, then the Prime Minister was the powerless spray at the front. He had to bid farewell to the stage of history and make room for himself.
This was a very normal process in officialdom. Seeing that the Prime Minister had left in a carefree manner, it seemed that he had long since anticipated the end of the story. But Fan Xian thought of Wan 'er, who had stayed behind in the capital, and of that silly Dabao whom he had somehow gotten along with. He still felt a little worried, and a faint worry crept into his brow.
"I hope father and Chen Pingping can protect the rest of the Lin family." He frowned as he looked at the yellow reeds. Why did they refuse to turn green? His heart suddenly thumped, and he began to think about the role of the Overwatch Council in this matter.
Inexplicably, Fan Xian felt a trace of anger. As the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, he did not believe that the Council did not know of the Emperor's intentions. And then he thought of the poison in Si Lili's body, and he suddenly felt a little cold.
Chen Pingping was only constantly removing obstacles in Fan Xian's way, even if they were Fan Xian's family. This method of removal was unusually cold, unusually heartless, and did not even consider Fan Xian's feelings.
— — — —
In the afternoon, after many days of travel, the diplomatic mission finally approached the great lake at the border between the two countries. The great lake had no name; it was simply called the Great Lake because it was exceptionally large. Fan Xian looked at the rolling blue waves in front of him, and as the cool breeze blew across the surface of the lake, he became much more clear-headed. A bright and beautiful smile once again appeared on his face.
Although the diplomatic mission's convoy had already arrived at the great lake, it would still take several days to circle around the lake and truly enter the borders of Northern Qi. Fan Xian knew that if Xiao En was truly going to make a move, it would probably be in the next few days.
In the distance, there were water birds flying leisurely close to the surface of the lake, their long beaks gliding through the water. When they encountered a fish, they nimbly closed their beaks and flew to the lakeshore. Then, using their slender claws, they would step on the fish, raise their necks to the sky, and swallow them with a gulp. It looked incredibly relaxed and carefree.
Fan Xian's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he strode toward the carriage that he had not visited in many days. Lifting the curtain and entering, he looked at Si Lili, who had a slightly stunned expression on her face, and smiled.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
