"Don't think I'm a saint." Fan Xian shook his head. "In the end, I'm thinking for myself. Taking over the palace treasury next year? That would be cutting off Xinyang's source of income. How could she support the prince? Could she allow such a thing to happen? The accounts of the palace treasury are clean and tidy, but what about the secret deficit? Do you want me to take it and worry until my hair turns white? "
"Her leftovers from the feast, I don't want to hold this broken plate of food!"
"The palace treasury is a mountain of gold, but also a basin of dirty water. The Eldest Princess has the empress dowager's favor, but what about me? As a foreign official, going to take charge of the palace treasury is a painful thing to do. " He said in distress, "I wonder if the Emperor wants me to be the Eldest Princess's scapegoat? In the future, when the palace treasury's deficit is investigated, I won't be able to explain it even if I had 800 mouths. Yes, I'm not satisfied, so I'm going to take my mother-in-law's foot-washing water and pour it on herself! "
If Chen Pingping or Fan Jian heard what he said and saw his expression, they would certainly give him a thumbs up and praise him for being so young, but his acting skills were already at the point of perfection. Foreign official? Foreign my ass!
But Yan Bingyun did not know the shocking secret behind the scenes. Hearing Fan Xian admit to his own selfishness, he felt even more admiration in the depths of his heart. He felt that this Sir Fan junior, who he had always disliked, was actually … an upright official! He furrowed his brows and suggested, "Why didn't you reject the palace's proposal in the beginning? The palace treasury is indeed … a hot potato."
Fan Xian laughed somewhat self-deprecatingly. "Perhaps you won't believe me, but … I really do want to do something for the people of the world."
Yan Bingyun's appearance was still cold, but the warmth in his heart seemed to have warmed. He stood up and bowed to Fan Xian. He then began to use a steady voice and began to give advice from the perspective of a subordinate. "At this time, it is not worth it to touch the palace treasury."
Fan Xian looked at him quietly.
Yan Bingyun did not seem to feel Fan Xian's aggressive gaze. "Because even if this matter is revealed … looking at Sir's recent plans, perhaps he will have the guts to ask Shi Chanli to write an official document and post it on the Supreme Court's wall, letting everyone know how much the Eldest Princess and the officials in the capital have benefited from the palace treasury …"
Fan Xian laughed self-deprecatingly. He really did have this plan. In any case, he was bold and had a strong backer — and this backer was not the Emperor, but that uncle.
"… It's useless." Yan Bingyun said seriously, "At least for this year's victims, it is useless. The silver that has flowed out of the palace treasury cannot be recovered in a short month. Let's not talk about whether the Emperor can make up his mind and offend most of the officials. If there are too many officials to be demoted, the court will have problems operating. The disaster relief cannot be delayed."
Fan Xian sank into deep thought and asked, "Then what do you think?"
"Put this case on hold for the time being … The Minister has been in charge of the national treasury for a long time. He must have his own ways. I don't think he will delay the disaster in the south." Yan Bingyun said quietly, "The things that Sir has arranged in Northern Qi also need some time to prepare. After the winter, the Council will coordinate with Wang Qinian in the north and south. First, we will uproot the Cui family and cut off Xinyang's path of distribution. Then, we will take advantage of the Commissioner's new control of the palace treasury to investigate the accounts and cases. "
"This is the way to be prudent." Fan Xian frowned. "I am just worried that Wang Qinian's time in Shangjing is too short. He cannot completely control the power in the north and uproot the Cui family."
Yan Bingyun paused for a moment, then simply replied, "I … can help."
Fan Xian looked at him. His expression did not change, but he was secretly delighted. "You are now a famous person in Northern Qi … how can you go back north?"
Yan Bingyun replied, "The men under me do not need me to watch over them."
"I will try to grasp more and more power, and then use this power to do things that I want to do. In this process, I will need the help of many people." Fan Xian looked into his eyes and said in a low voice, "I really want to be like when we were in Shangjing. You and I can work well together … of course, not just this time, but also next spring."
Yan Bingyun understood what he meant. He did not stay silent for long. He lowered his head, saluted, and left.
The young and handsome men of the Overwatch Council were not sloppy people. However, after Sir Yan junior expressed sufficient trust in Sir Fan junior, he still turned his head back and asked in confusion before he stepped out of the study, "Commissioner, you have lived in luxury since you were a child. Why do you place so much importance on the common people who suffer in the world?"
Fan Xian scratched his head and replied, "Perhaps it is because I … have long since gotten used to doing good deeds."
…
…
"Sir Yan junior is very patient. He still hasn't asked how Miss Shen is doing."
He looked out the window at the half-cut shrubs under the setting sun. His face was expressionless, but he sighed to himself. The officialdom was indeed treacherous at every step. Even the Fan manor he lived in had such a skilled spy!
Although Fan Xian had officially revealed his identity as the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council to the Ministry of Justice, and the First Bureau's secret agent had tactfully revealed his identity and left, the courtyard was still not quiet. If it weren't for Wu Zhu behind him, he probably wouldn't have noticed the woman planting flowers.
Just as he had said, Fan Xian was not a saint, nor was he a good person in the purest sense of the word, and he was certainly not a traitor. The simplest reason for dealing with the Eldest Princess, as well as the unknown Second Prince, was because he and Xinyang had long had enmity that could not be solved.
And the root of this enmity, the palace treasury, was the thing that Fan Xian would not give up after his rebirth. The palace treasury was the Ye family, and the meaning it carried was something that Fan Xian had no choice but to protect. No matter who tried to stand in his way, Fan Xian would mercilessly kick them aside.
But what he had said to Yan Bingyun was not all an act. It was just like what he had said to his sister a long time ago.
How should a person live their life?
How should Fan Xian live his life? Love himself, love his wife, love his family, love the world, love his own, and love for others. This was not the influence of the Da Ai Television Station, but purely from his own heart. Muddleheaded, glory, wealth, bullying men and women, this was a life. Honest, wronged, precarious life, this was a life. Leading troops into battle, killing people like scything flax, and unifying the world was a life.
Fan Xian was also an ordinary male animal who coveted wealth, enjoyed power, and loved beautiful women. But the experience of two lives had allowed him to accurately grasp what he wanted, so he believed that being free and easy, being cruel when it was time to be cruel, being gentle when it was time to be gentle, being close to more beautiful women, earning more money, and seeing more of the beautiful scenery of this world was the way to live a glorious life.
On the premise that his life and material life were guaranteed, he did not mind enjoying his spiritual world. But for the world to be beautiful, it first had to make the people who lived in it smile. So Fan Xian, the "poor official", inevitably felt a little tired at the beginning.
If he had maintained the clear and murderous state of mind of the youth from Danzhou, perhaps he would have become a lot more free and happy. The palace treasury and the people of the world would not have made him think too much. But in the spring of the fourth year of the Qing calendar, that bit of unnecessary curiosity about his fiancee, made him fall into the river of love, into family, and deeper and deeper. He could no longer live freely in this world. This fact tells us that as a man, getting married too early is always a very stupid thing to do.
— — —
That afternoon, Fan Xian, the commissioner of the Overwatch Council, and Yan Bingyun, the alternate head of the Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council, had a conversation in Fan Manor about the palace treasury, the second prince, and the people of the people. The contents of this conversation were quickly sent through the most secretive channel of the Qing Kingdom to the royal study in the royal palace and to Chen Pingping's table.
Chen Pingping's reaction was very simple. He immediately wrote an order, temporarily delegating his authority over the entire Council to Fan Xian. In other words, before Chen Pingping retracted this order, Fan Xian could legitimately mobilize all the power of the enormous and terrifying Overwatch Council.
And in the royal study, the supreme Emperor of the Qing Kingdom looked at the report on the table and only nodded lightly.
In His Majesty's heart, he was very pleased with Fan Xian's actions these past few days. Since the officials and the people of the world all believed the Overwatch Council to be his dog, then this dog must have the courage and ruthlessness to bite people, but it must not bite anyone it met. By making Fan Xian the dog's leash, the Emperor wanted to see just how capable he was.
After the conversation with Chen Pingping nine months ago, although the Emperor did not say anything, he had tacitly agreed to the fact that Fan Xian had taken over the Overwatch Council. In the future, he would have to let the child know his true identity — as the son of the Emperor, but because of his birth, he could never sit on the throne — presumably, the child would be very satisfied with this arrangement.
Of course, His Majesty appreciated this afternoon's conversation between Fan Xian and Yan Bingyun even more. The emotions that naturally flowed through the conversation were very similar to that woman from back then. A trace of a gratified smile flashed across the Emperor's thin face. Although the child's words were somewhat disrespectful toward him, he could guess the loyalty beneath those words.
He looked at the eunuch in front of him and smiled. "Hong Siyang, what do you think of this … Fan Xian?"
Eunuch Hong bowed slightly. There was not a trace of emotion on his aged face. "Too fake."
The Emperor furrowed his brows and didn't say anything. He wondered if Fan Xian was putting on an act for him to see. However, he had heard that the Fifth Prince had always been in the south. No one in the capital should have been able to detect his arrangements.
"Your Majesty, how should we handle this?" Eunuch Hong asked, naturally, about the matter between the Second Prince and the Eldest Princess.
The Emperor coldly shook his head. "The play hasn't even begun. How can it be stopped so soon?"
This Emperor of the Kingdom of Qing had always been troubled by the emptiness of the national treasury. Although he had always had his suspicions about Xinyang, he had never found any concrete evidence. And because of the Empress Dowager's health, the Emperor, who had always been loyal and filial, could not ferociously tear open everything under the curtains. After all, Li Yunrui had done more for the Kingdom of Qing than he had done wrong. After all, the Second Prince was his own son.
It was only now that he truly believed Chen Pingping's words. In some matters, although young people could appear a little rash, they could also display sufficient ability and boldness. Not to mention Fan Xian, it seemed that the Emperor had not paid enough attention to the young official named Yan Bingyun.
The serving girls lit the candles and left. The royal study was silent. The Emperor quietly waited for Fan Xian's memorial. If Fan Xian had truly guessed his intentions and was willing to follow his arrangements to be a lonely official, then by tonight at the latest, he should have found out and delivered the information to the Emperor's desk.
And if Fan Xian really did as Yan Bingyun wanted and suppressed this matter … the Emperor frowned. Even if Fan Xian was considering things for the stability of the court, as the Emperor, he could not allow such deception.
…
…
With a creak, the door to the royal study opened. A eunuch walked in carrying two boxes of memorials. The Emperor had always been diligent. Reading memorials until late at night had already become a rule in the Royal Palace.
The Emperor's expression did not change, but he was waiting for something in his heart. When he saw the secret memorial box at the very bottom, a warm smile appeared on his lips.
He opened the Overwatch Council's special secret memorial box and began to carefully read the first memorial Fan Xian had written since entering officialdom. The secret memorial.
After a long time, he put the memorial to the candle and burned it. He gently coughed, picked up the red brush, and wrote two words on a piece of white paper. He then sealed it back into the secret memorial box.
In his heart, this memorial, which could change the fate of many people, was not a big deal. On the road to the pinnacle of power, the Emperor had already seen through many things. It was different from what many factions, including Fan Xian, secretly guessed. He did not care at all about how his son and sister would make a fuss. Because no one could truly understand the Emperor's ambition and confidence.
But the Emperor was very satisfied with Fan Xian's performance because he knew that Fan Xian was not standing on the Eastern Palace's side to attack the Second Prince.
So when the Emperor, who was comforted, began to read the memorial at the back, his thin face suddenly showed incomparable anger and disdain.
The Imperial Censorate collectively accused Fan Xian, the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council and head of the First Bureau, of corruption, taking bribes, and arrogance!
The memorials were like pairs of provocative eyes staring at the Emperor's gloomy face.
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