During this period of time, the Overwatch Council, under the guidance of Commissioner Fan and Yan Bingyun junior, had armed themselves to the teeth. They did not hesitate to tear into the second prince's faction, from officials to economic interests. With the Bao Yue brothel incident as the catalyst, and with the assassination attempt outside the capital government as the root cause, they attacked the royal court and the Dasuo trading company. They dug into the deepest recesses of the other party's soul, and with a flash of crafty thought, they pressed forward.
First of all, it was no surprise that one of the eight generals, Xie Bi 'an, had suddenly died in the capital's prison. This gave the Overwatch Council a good excuse. The Overwatch Council sent three memorials to the palace, and finally, Tian Jingmu was suspended from his duties for further investigation.
The stupid move that the Second Prince had made in order to protect himself had caused the Council to link up with one another and directly remove the Second Prince's greatest support in the capital. On the other hand, Yan Bingyun had begun to use other methods to successfully control the supply routes from Xinyang to the capital. He had forced the Cui family into a state of panic, and no one knew how much money they had lost. They had no choice but to use the funds of the Jiangnan family in order to forcefully reopen the route to the north, which had been cut off by Shen Zhong's death. The second prince's money began to shrink.
The public opinion was not in favor of the second prince's faction. Although there were experts in the palace, they were not as effective and professional as the Overwatch Council. Compared to the propagandists of the Eighth Bureau, the workers sent by the palace to the teahouses and taverns did not have the power to sway the hearts of the people. Although the Overwatch Council was ruthless, the people of the capital were still on the side of the Fan family. They felt that the missing second master of the Fan family had become a scapegoat for the second prince, which was why Fan Xian junior was so ruthless.
As for Hongcheng, poor Crown Prince Jing, his reputation was even worse. Who told him to have an affair with Yuan Meng? Everyone in the capital knew that next spring, Li Hongcheng was going to marry the eldest daughter of the Fan family. But you ordered Fan Sizhe, who was only fourteen years old, to open a brothel, and made him take the blame for the murder of a prostitute. Motherf * cker, how could there be a brother-in-law in this world who would use his brother-in-law so shamelessly?
For a period of time, the Second Prince's faction was beaten back step by step, be it in the officialdom or in other aspects. Their morale was low, and they had no strength to fight back. The only counterattack they attempted was the Imperial Censorate, which was under the control of the eldest princess. But the Imperial Censorate wasted their efforts. All of the actions of the Overwatch Council were carried out according to the laws of the Qing Kingdom, and there was not a single place where they could be used against them. As for the assassination of the three witnesses of the Baoyue Brothel murder case, it was a headless murder case. Even if someone guessed that it was the Overwatch Council who did it, there was no evidence.
The Overwatch Council's attitude toward the assassination was simple and clear. The three men had been personally sent by Commissioner Fan's family to the yamen of the capital government. How could they have died outside the capital government? If there was a problem, the biggest problem would be Tian Jingmu, who was on good terms with the second prince.
Fan Xian was very satisfied with the results of the battle so far. In any case, the bottom line of the palace was there, and he could not directly chase the Second Prince out of the capital. As long as he could weaken the Second Prince to the point where he could no longer threaten him, beat him until he was in unspeakable pain, and vent the anger of the Fan family, that was enough.
Up until now, the terrifying power of the Overwatch Council had only been revealed to the public.
The reason why this operation was able to go so smoothly was because Chen Pingping had used the transfer order to give all of the authority to Fan Xian. More importantly, Fan Xian's operation had been planned since he was in Shangjing, Northern Qi. From summer to autumn, he and Yan Bingyun had been preparing for this for a long time. At the time, the memorials that were presented to the Imperial Censorate had mentioned the relationship between the Second Prince and the eldest princess. But last time, the Emperor had not released it. This time, because of the Baoyue Brothel incident, Fan Xian had used his anger to bring this matter forward.
If the Overwatch Council still could not win this battle, Chen Pingping would probably jump out of his wheelchair in anger and yell at these little bastards for ruining the reputation of the Overwatch Council.
…
…
The palace remained eerily quiet. All the nobles, including the Second Prince's mother, Imperial Concubine Shu, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, and the Empress, seemed to be deaf and blind. They were cautious and did not express any opinions. Everyone knew that this was to see the Emperor's attitude.
What was the Emperor doing?
News had come out of the palace. The Emperor had invited Jiangnan's Daoist troupe into the palace to perform in a play. At this time, there was a storm in Jingdou, but the Emperor of the Qing Kingdom still had spare time to accompany the empress dowager and watch a play for a day. Who knew how many baskets of copper coins he had given out? He was indescribably happy and relaxed.
Now, everyone finally saw the situation clearly. It seemed that the Emperor did not think this kind of small matter was worth watching. He did not even bother to lift his eyelids. How could the small fights of young people in the capital compare to the plays performed by famous troupes in Jiangnan?
The situation was now clear. The court officials, who had maintained a neutral stance, used their sharp minds and suddenly discovered a reality. Fan Xian's Emperor's favor had reached a shocking level. Who was Fan Xian's opponent? It was the Second Prince, the Emperor's own son. His Majesty could actually be so impartial … This, this, what kind of favor was this?
These people did not dare to offend the Second Prince, so they could only stand even more firmly on the wall. They stuck their feet in the mud and stubbornly practiced the grassroots spirit. They swayed left and right, but they were not willing to casually lean to any side.
This reality made the Second Prince suck in a breath of cold air. He knew that these years, he had quietly developed his power in the court. He could not help but think, could it be that after Fan Xian returned to the capital, Fan Xian had secretly received instructions from the palace to target him? However, the Second Prince was also a sinister person. He knew that the current situation did not allow him to retreat. Even if he was willing to put aside his pride as a prince and hope to shake hands with Fan Xian a second time, Fan Xian might not be in the mood to do so. Furthermore, the Emperor's warm attitude made the Second Prince know that if he could not defeat Fan Xian, then he could only wait for Fan Xian to knock him down to the ground — just as they had said in the tea shop.
Under this strong pressure, the Second Prince once again reluctantly made his move. The Imperial Censorate once again impeached Fan Xian. This time, the charges were very real, and the evidence was very solid. In short, it had nothing to do with what Fan Sizhe had done, and it also involved the Minister of Revenue, Fan Jian. The snow-like memorials were sent to the provinces, completely skipping over the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court. They directly asked the Fan father and son to step down and apologize. It was a battle to the death.
On this day, dozens of remonstrants put on an even grander display than the last time they had impeached Fan Xian. They knelt straight in front of the palace gate. There was no rain today, and on the greenish-gray square in front of the palace, dozens of red official robes fluttering in the autumn wind were particularly eye-catching. The court elders who came and went from the palace gate could not help but shake their heads and hide behind a corner door, not daring to interfere.
According to the laws of the Qing Kingdom, officials who were impeached were required to explain themselves. For this impeachment, the Fan father and son had to personally go to the palace to apologize to the Emperor, and then explain themselves in court. But in court, the Second Prince's faction was still very powerful, and the debate in front of the palace was not easy for the Fan father and son to pass.
The censors of the Imperial Censorate were full of confidence. They were waiting for Fan Jian and Fan Xian, two of the most corrupt officials in the Qing Kingdom, to be taken down by them. This time was different from last time. This time, with the help of the second prince, they were able to obtain concrete evidence. It was enough to prove that the Fan family, and even the Liu family's Zhongyi Manor, were connected to the infamous Bao Yue brothel.
They knelt on the ground and excitedly waited for Fan Xian's arrival. Even if the Fan family had sent Fan Sizhe away and gotten rid of the Bao Yue brothel, and even if the Emperor had shown mercy, the evidence was still there. The Fan family would have to pay the price. They were waiting for the arrogant Commissioner of the Overwatch Council to appear in front of them and admit his mistakes, apologize, and bow his head.
It was not just the Imperial Censorate's censors. Many people were prepared to see how the Fan manor, or the Overwatch Council, would react in the face of such an aggressive impeachment. Every official wanted to keep their face, and to be bitten by the Imperial Censorate like this was a very embarrassing thing to do. Everyone knew that Fan Xian was a person who placed great importance on his reputation, so the officials were even more interested. Even Shu Wu the Scholar was waiting to see Fan Xian's wretched appearance with a heart full of mischief, revenge, or ridicule.
…
…
But no one expected that when the Emperor summoned Fan Xian, he would not come. Not only did he not come, but Minister Fan did not come either. This pair of father and son had a tacit understanding, and shamelessly used the same trick: escape while sick.
Hearing this news, the second prince was shocked. He did not expect the Fan family to not only be like a hungry wolf when it came to profit, but when it came to the issue of face, they were also ruthless. They did not even give the second prince a chance to win back some face. Ruthless, this father and son were ruthless.
Shu Wu, the Scholar, was old and used to hiding in the meeting room outside the corner door and drinking tea. After hearing this news, he spat out a mouthful of tea. He had gone to the Imperial College to play a few games of chess with Fan Xian. Fan Xian had promised to play, but now he had caused such a commotion in the capital. He even said he did not want to "eat the pieces." Shu Wu the Scholar was so angry at Fan Xian, who was outwardly respectful but had a belly full of evil tricks. He had hoped to see Fan Xian suffer a setback at the court conference, but he did not expect the kid to say he was sick and not come. This made the old scholar, who had been watching a show, unable to vent his anger. He was very unhappy.
The news of the Fan father and son claiming illness reached the palace. The Emperor, who was reading the memorials from the counties, was also shocked. He furrowed his brows and did not say anything.
The concubines in the rear palace also knew of this matter. They laughed and scolded that this child of the Fan family was a troublemaker. He did not know how to make the Emperor less annoyed. They also did not know how Yi Chen had married such a husband. At first, he had seemed full of poetry. Now, he was a disgruntled scoundrel.
The ones who were most disappointed were the Imperial Censorate kneeling outside the palace gate. Since the other party claimed illness and did not come, no matter how murderous they were, there was no point of resistance. Their hearts were empty, and they felt very uncomfortable. They left dejectedly. Even the brown official robes they wore hung weakly around their bodies. They could not be bothered with the teasing of the autumn wind.
People grew up eating grains, and were not invincible. How could they not be sick? But for the Fan father and son to fall sick so coincidentally, and for the illness to come so suddenly that they could not get out of bed … it was a bit too strange. Especially since Fan Xian was the direct disciple of Fei Jie of the Overwatch Council. Although he did not practice medicine, even the royal doctors in the palace knew of his methods. How could he suddenly fall sick?
Not only did the officials in court not believe it, but the people of Jingdou did not believe it. In fact, even the ladies in the palace and the Emperor on the dragon chair did not believe it. So after the court meeting ended, the palace guards led the royal doctors, led by Eunuch Hong, who rarely left the palace, in a grandiose manner to Fan Manor. They sent an edict to express their condolences, and at the same time, to see what illness the father and son had.
Many of the manor's spies followed this procession. Because everyone thought the Fan father and son were pretending to be sick, they unconsciously thought that in order not to go to court and make a fool of themselves, they had offended the Emperor. It was a small crime of deceiving the Emperor … it was extremely stupid and extremely arrogant.
The Second Prince also did not understand this matter. He was a prince, and had grown up in the palace. Of course, he knew Eunuch Hong's methods. No trick of pretending to be sick could be hidden from the sickly old eunuch.
…
…
Fan Xian really was sick.
This news was confirmed by Eunuch Hong. The Emperor had no follow-up measures to prove it. It spread to every corner of the capital. No one suspected that Fan Xian was pretending to be sick. Although Minister Fan had only occasionally caught a cold, Fan Xian really was bedridden. His body was very weak.
At the critical moment of the Overwatch Council and the Second Prince's battle, Fan Xian had unfortunately fallen ill.
This reality made many people feel a very strange emotion. Would the situation in Jingdou change because of this? After all, a similar situation had occurred in history before. When the Northern Wei Kingdom's Emperor was investigating the illustrious Zhan family, the reason he was able to succeed was because the famous general Zhan Qingfeng, Zhan Qingfeng, had diarrhea for three days.
Although history was ridiculous, it was very real.
…
…
"Don't worry about anything." Fan Xian frowned. He looked at Mu Tie, who was sitting in front of his bed, and said, "Just listen to Master Yan's arrangements."
After returning from the capital government, he had fallen ill. Although it was not serious, after the battle with Xie Bi 'an, he began to lose control of his zhenqi. It was running around in his body, forcing him to spend more time meditating. His pale complexion and strange pulse had successfully fooled the mysterious Eunuch Hong.
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