Most of the government offices in the capital were concentrated in the area to the east of Tianhe Avenue. There were not many commoners living there, and the road was particularly wide. On both sides of the road were many beautiful or grand wooden buildings. These buildings were the scattered centers that controlled the power of the country. For example, the old military headquarters was located at the entrance of the road, with a giant stone lion. Every day, it faced the rising sun, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. In the light and shadow, it looked strange, like a giant prehistoric beast. It did not reflect the military might of the Qing Kingdom.
The true center of power in the Qing Kingdom was deep in the palace in the north of the city. The buildings in the palace were not as tall as the government offices, except for the watchtower that towered into the sky. However, the thick palace walls and the incomparably vast plaza created an extremely sacred feeling.
The officials of the Kingdom of Qing all knew that the brilliant and astute Emperor of the Royal Palace would not dwell on the specifics of officialdom. Thus, to them, the most terrifying place in the entire bureaucracy of the Kingdom of Qing, and the place with the most power, was neither the yamen nor the Royal Palace. It was the square building in the west of the city, with its outer walls painted with a layer of gray and black. It looked sinister and terrifying.
The Overwatch Council was located there. The Qing Kingdom implemented a system of three departments and six departments. The three departments were the Overwatch Council, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Military Affairs, which had been upgraded from the old military headquarters. Of the three departments, the most powerful was the Overwatch Council. The Overwatch Council had the power of independent investigation, arrest, and, in some cases, trial. No other organization had the power to supervise it.
In some sense, it was a wild beast without a leash. It was also like the Emperor's secret agency. No, it should be said that the Overwatch Council was a secret agency that the Emperor had placed in the open.
However, the officials of the Qing Kingdom were always deeply worried. The current Emperor was talented and could subdue the sinister Director Chen and the Overwatch Council's countless secret agents and terrifying power. But, what if … in the future, who would pull the reins of this ferocious beast? Furthermore, the officials who had suffered under the Overwatch Council always cursed in their hearts. The Overwatch Council was not a wild beast, but a sinister and despicable wild dog.
At that moment, in that dark room of the Overwatch Council, there was a quiet and secret conversation going on.
"The assassins in the Danzhou fire were indeed part of the Council, and were under the jurisdiction of Dongshan Road. The Fourth Bureau had always been in charge of the organization's affairs in other places. The Internal Affairs Division found out that an official of the Fourth Division is a distant relative of the second wife of the Master's family, so this mission should be arranged as such. "Fei Jie looked at the director and said in a hoarse voice.
"Identity?" This was what the old man was most concerned about.
Fei Jie squinted, his brown eyes full of uncertainty. "I believe that among the eight people who know about this, no one will leak it. Although Master Wu was the Lady's personal attendant, he rarely fought. Today, no one in the world has seen him in person. The only person he has met is Ye Liuyun, who is now a grandmaster. It is even more impossible for him to travel to Danzhou. There are no such coincidences in this world, so there is no need to worry about others deducing his identity because of Master Wu. "
The director's fingers were thin and bony, his knuckles protruding. He gently tapped the table and said thoughtfully, "Back then, I wanted you to kill all the Black Knights who had seen Wu Zhu that night, and you pleaded with me. Now that I think about it, you were wrong."
Fei Jie smiled. His eyes, which had become brown because of too much exposure to poison, flashed with an indescribable light. "Many people died that night."
Fei Jie, at least on the surface, did not seem to fear the old man in front of him. After all, his status and experience were there. He laughed and said in a hoarse voice, "Unnecessary killing is extremely stupid. Have you forgotten? The Lady once said that?"
"Oh." The old man smiled as well, as if thinking of many happy things in the past. But in the midst of this smile, he issued a very sinister order.
"Dongshan Road takes orders from the Fourth Bureau. Since the documents are all signed, there is no mistake in the procedure, so Dongshan Road does not need to take responsibility for this matter. The others can be dealt with as they wish. " He smiled and said to himself, "To use my power to kill the people I want to protect, is this a coincidence, or are some people testing something? That second wife, it seems, is not simple. "
He continued, "The Fourth Bureau's Yan Ruohai did not supervise well, and signed the documents randomly. If it wasn't his own son, he would kill blindly and cause trouble! Stop his salary for three years, and send his eldest son, Yan Bingyun, to the north. He will only be allowed to return when he gets his hands on two high-grade goods. "
Having said this, the director picked up the document that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had already drafted, and wrote down the final conclusion. He then signed his name — Chen Pingping.
Every time Fei Jie saw the director's shriveled and ugly signature, he wanted to laugh, but he had to hold it in. He knew that this feminine signature would cause the deaths of several high-ranking officials, and it would cause the son of an even higher-ranking official to miserably sneak into the enemy's country. He would only be allowed to return after obtaining particularly valuable information. This was probably even more terrifying than death.
The old man laughed self-deprecatingly. "I grew up with Fan Jian. I never thought I would have to worry so much about his family's affairs. Get someone to check if the Second Madam has any connection with that man. "
Fan Jian was Count Sinan's name, and he was Fan Xian's father.
Fei Jie frowned, and his brown eyes trembled. "Impossible. They must have thought that the baby died long ago."
"You misunderstand me. I also believe that they have no way of knowing that Fan Xian is the young lady's son."
The director smiled. "His Majesty has always requested that the nobility and civil officials keep their distance from us. Sending you to Danzhou all those years ago was done discreetly, but it was still possible that they would find out. Both the Empress Dowager and the Prime Minister are curious about the relationship between our Council and Count Sinan. Those forces hiding in the dark are using the second wife's hand to test us and Sir Fan's reaction to this matter. It is only right that we do not overreact. Do you understand? "
Fei Jie suddenly had a suspicion. Regarding the assassination in Danzhou, perhaps it was because the Director had purposely leaked some information.
…
…
The old man pushed his wheelchair to the window, lifted a corner of the black cloth, and looked out. "Also, regarding the matter of the chest, whether or not Wu Zhu is telling the truth, it is fine as long as it does not fall into the hands of our enemies in the north."
"It is a pity that we do not know how big the chest is, or what it looks like." Fei Jie came to his side and followed the old man's gaze out the window.
"When I go to hell, come play mahjong with me as soon as possible," Director Chen said with a smile.
Fei Jie knew that the director was not as old as he appeared. "I am a good man," he said with a smile. "One day I will go to heaven."
A black shadow floated out from the corner of the secret room like the wind. It pulled down the black cloth, blocking the overly strong sunlight from shining on the old man's body. This person's movements were soundless. It was the master who had killed the staff-wielding sorcerer outside the capital many years ago.
Fei Jie pointed to the black shadow. "I reckon he will come to play chess with you."
…
…
Outside the window, the sun shone brightly. In the distance, the glazed tiles of the palace's halls shone with a deep golden light.
As pedestrians passed by the entrance of the Overwatch Council, they unconsciously took a detour to the opposite side of the street, as if afraid of being contaminated by the gloomy atmosphere.
At the entrance of the Overwatch Council was a wide stone tablet. On the tablet were a few sentences painted in gold. "I hope that the people of the Kingdom of Qing will become uninhibited people. When abused by others, they will have a heart that will not yield. When attacked by evil, they will have a heart that will not be frustrated. When wrongdoing occurs, they will have a heart that will not be afraid to correct. They will not suck up to wolves and tigers … "
It was signed with three words: Ye Qingmei.
No one knew who Ye Qingmei was, but all the citizens of the capital knew that when the Overwatch Council was established, this stone tablet had been erected there. It always shone with a golden light, resonating with the golden eaves of the palace in the distance … it seemed to hide all the darkness in those two buildings.
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