Chen Pingping pushed the wheelchair to the window. As was his habit these years, he gently lifted a corner of the black curtain and felt the heat outside being cut off by the thick glass. He gazed at the golden eaves of the Palace and half-closed his lifeless eyes as he shrunk his entire body into the wheelchair.
"I'll have Yan Bingyun come over."
Fei Jie was not surprised to hear these words. He knew that every time the Director was about to do something big, he would always choose a way out first. It was not his own way out, but the Overwatch Council's way out.
A light knock came from outside the secret room. Chen Pingping listened for a while and a look of approval appeared on his face. The person knocking on the door was still unhurried. In terms of temperament, he was indeed much more suitable than Fan Xian. He used the fingers of his right hand to gently tap the armrest of the wheelchair a few times.
Having received permission, the person outside pushed open the door and entered. It was none other than the current head of the Fourth Bureau, the person Chen Pingping had discussed earlier, Yan Bingyun, Sir Yan junior.
It had been almost a year since Yan Bingyun had been rescued and returned to the country. He had long recovered from the wounds he had received and recovered his icy appearance. He had kept the Fourth Bureau in good order. Compared to when his father, Yan Ruohai, was in power, the Fourth Bureau appeared even more overbearing. For a time, Sir Yan junior had become an important figure in the Qing court.
However, the work of the Overwatch Council never saw the light, so Yan Bingyun's reputation was not very high. This did not stop the high-ranking officials and nobles in the court who knew the inside story from doing their best to send their daughters to the Yan manor. Putting aside Yan Bingyun's own power, ability, and appearance, just considering his good relationship with Fan Xian and the Yan manor's title of nobility, this kind of son-in-law was something everyone wanted.
After Yan Bingyun entered the room, he first bowed to Chen Pingping and reported on the recent work of the Overwatch Council. Presently, Chen Pingping was in retirement in Chen Garden, and Fan Xian was far away by the sea. The daily work of the Overwatch Council was managed by this young man.
Chen Pingping closed his eyes and listened for a while. Suddenly, he asked, "Did Fan Xian contact you beforehand?"
Yan Bingyun shook his head. "Time is too tight. The Council is only responsible for passing on the Palace's intentions to the Commissioner. As for the specifics, the Second Bureau doesn't have time to come up with a plan. It's all up to the Commissioner."
Chen Pingping nodded and suddenly smiled. "What about your marriage? A few days ago, your father came to Chen Garden to ask for my opinion … but this matter is not easy to handle. "
Yan Bingyun was silent. The elders in the Council all knew about the matter of Young Lady Shen, but they had never pointed it out. However, the issue of the marriage had come from the Palace, which made it difficult for him.
Not many people in Jingdou knew about the matter of Lady Shen. It involved the matter that Fan Xian had done in Jiangnan, so it had been tightly hidden. Even if this matter were to be exposed in the future, for the sake of the good relationship between Qing and Northern Qi, Yan Bingyun would not be able to openly marry Lady Shen into his manor.
"Let's stall for a bit." Chen Pingping half-closed his eyes and said, "Go ask that person from the Prince's family for her opinion on this matter. Ask her to help delay it."
The person from the Prince's family was the Great Imperial Concubine, the Great Princess who had married in from Northern Qi. Ever since this Great Princess married into the Qing Kingdom, she had been gentle and virtuous. She had the air of a great family and was very liked by the empress dowager in the Palace. She was completely different from the discrimination the Great Prince received.
Yan Bingyun's expression remained calm, but he was slightly moved in the depths of his heart. The old Director probably couldn't even be bothered to care about the Jiaozhou matters, yet he was willing to give advice on the marriage of someone like him. This kind of care for a subordinate was truly …
"When Fan Xian returns to the capital, let's see how he handles it," Chen Pingping suddenly laughed in a sharp voice. "This kid is very experienced as a matchmaker and breaking up marriages."
These words were indeed true. In recent years, the Palace had appointed four marriages. Two of them were related to the Fan manor. Fan Xian himself had married Lin Wan'er, but he had forcefully taken a roundabout route and caused a commotion that shocked the world. He had created a certain situation, but it was all for the sake of allowing his sister to escape from the appointed marriage.
Every time he thought of this matter, even Chen Pingping couldn't help but feel a glimmer of admiration for that kid. He was truly a troublesome and stubborn person.
Only now did Yan Bingyun find the time to bow to Fei Jie. At the same time, he expressed his gratitude. During this year of healing, Fei Jie had helped him a great deal.
In the end, Chen Pingping coldly said, "At the beginning, the plan was for you and Fan Xian to switch places and let you handle the First Bureau first. However, looking at the recent situation … you have to be mentally prepared."
Yan Bingyun was slightly startled. He didn't know what to prepare.
"Fan Xian … can't let Council affairs hold him up too much," Chen Pingping lightly said. Chen Pingping said lightly, "After Wang Qinian returns to the capital, if he's not at the First Bureau, then he'll stick to Fan Xian's side. Find a capable person from the Fourth Bureau to take over your position."
Yan Bingyun vaguely guessed something, but he was not excited. He only nodded.
"I'll step back. You have to help Fan Xian hold his position steady." Chen Pingping's voice appeared a bit tired. It was as if he was entrusting an orphan. "Even if he becomes the Director, I'm afraid he won't have the patience to do these details. Wait until you become Commissioner. You have to help him handle it well."
Yan Bingyun silently knelt on one knee and raised his hands in a salute. "Yes."
Chen Pingping looked at him. Fei Jie also looked at him from the side. A moment later, the old cripple quietly said, "Everyone under heaven thinks … Fan Xian is the first Commissioner since the founding of the Council. However, your Yan family has always worked in the Council. Of course, you know there was one before. You … will be the third Commissioner since the founding of the Overwatch Council. Remember this. This is an honorable but dangerous position."
Yan Bingyun felt a pressure on his shoulders, making it impossible for him to move.
"That day will come very quickly. I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say next."
"Yes."
"The appearance of the Overwatch Council's first Commissioner is to supervise me," Chen Pingping said lightly without a trace of unhappiness. "Of course, he has that ability. Thus, his Commissioner status is the most detached. Normally, he doesn't care much. However, although he doesn't care about Council affairs now, if you have the opportunity to see him in the future … no matter what he orders, just do it."
Yan Bingyun didn't immediately agree. Instead, he was silent for a moment and said, "Even if it goes against the edict?"
Chen Pingping opened his eyes. The light in them was like that of an eagle on a cliff, incomparably sharp. After a long time, he coldly said, "Yes."
…
…
Yan Bingyun took two deep breaths and suppressed the glimmer of doubt and unease in his heart. He did his best to calm down and asked, "How do I know who he is? The Commissioner's token is on Sir Fan junior. "
Chen Pingping smiled. "We all call him Sir Fifth … of course, there are people who call him Lao Fifth, but you don't have the right to call him that. As long as he's in front of you, you'll know who he is. This is a very simple question. "
Seeing him and knowing he was him was a difficult and mysterious way of saying it, but Yan Bingyun cleverly understood.
"His existence is the Overwatch Council's greatest secret," Chen Pingping coldly said. Chen Pingping said coldly, "His Majesty once gave a strict order regarding this, so you must know how to keep it a secret … As long as the Five Masters are here, no matter how much the situation changes in the future, at least this broken courtyard of ours, this abnormal existence, will be able to struggle at death's door."
Yan Bingyun knelt with his head down. He understood what the Director meant. The Overwatch Council was the Emperor's special forces organization, but it was not limited to that. It was a sharp sword that stretched across the officialdom of the Qing court. The Emperor was the hand that held the sword. If that hand suddenly disappeared, the Overwatch Council, this sword, would certainly become an object that everyone anxiously wanted to cut off. However, he didn't know who that Sir Five was to have a power similar to the Emperor's.
Chen Pingping raised a second finger and coldly said, "Fan Xian is the second Commissioner of the Council. However, you also know his identity. Thus, the Overwatch Council can only be a part of his journey and cannot forever confine him here."
"And you, you will be the third Commissioner of the Council. The things you need to do are different from the previous two."
Chen Pingping sighed tiredly. "Your mission is … if one day I die and Fan Xian goes crazy, you have to silently endure it no matter what. Even if you have to endure humiliation to survive and suffer for the sake of the overall situation, you have to protect this Council. Even if you can't protect it on the surface, you have to keep the network we've always hidden in the shadows."
…
…
Yan Bingyun finally could no longer pretend to be calm. He looked at the old man in the wheelchair with a face full of shock because the old man's words about the three Commissioners clearly conflicted in some areas, particularly the Sir Five and his mission. If Sir Five did not die, the Overwatch Council would not fall. Then, his mission? Furthermore, the old man said it so seriously and sorrowfully.
There was only one possibility. The Director had predicted that in the near future, either Sir Five would die or a power that the Overwatch Council could not contend with would descend from the heavens.
For example, the hand holding this sword easily let go and let the sword of the Overwatch Council fall into the yellow mud.
However, why would the Emperor oppose the Overwatch Council?
Why did the Director seem to be entrusting an orphan to him?
Yan Bingyun had always been intelligent and calm. However, at this moment, he couldn't help but be thrown into confusion. He didn't dare to think deeply about this question and didn't dare to ask further. He didn't know what the old man in the wheelchair would do. He also didn't know what kind of major event would happen or how it would affect everyone's lives.
"Why do you think there is an Overwatch Council in this world?" Chen Pingping's words seemed to be asking Yan Bingyun but also like he was asking himself.
Yan Bingyun's brows were furrowed tightly. His mind was actually still stuck in the shock from earlier. No one had ever doubted the Director's loyalty to the Emperor. The Emperor's favor toward the Director was an honor that had never been seen before. Why? Why was it like this?
"For the Emperor …" Yan Bingyun unconsciously opened his mouth to say but immediately closed it.
"I hope that the people of the Qing Kingdom can all become uninhibited people. When abused by others, they have a heart that does not yield. When attacked by disaster, they have a heart that does not suffer setbacks. When there is something wrong, they have a heart that does not fear correction. They do not suck up to wolves and tigers … "
Chen Pingping suddenly laughed out loud.
Yan Bingyun was too familiar with these words. All of the officials of the Overwatch Council had grown up watching these words. These words had always been carved on the stone tablet in front of the Overwatch Council. It shone with a golden light and had not faded for many years. At the end of it were three words: Ye Qingmei.
Now, everyone under heaven knew that Ye Qingmei was the mistress of the Ye family and Sir Fan junior's birth mother.
"Actually, there are two more lines after this." Chen Pingping closed his eyes and slowly said, "However, after she died, no one dared to mention it again. Go home and ask Ruohai. He will tell you what these two lines are."
"Yes."
Even if Yan Bingyun had thousands of words in his heart, he could only say this one word.
— — — —
Sir Yan junior sat in the carriage and hurried back to the Yan manor. Perhaps it was because the weather was too hot or because he was too terrified in the depths of his heart, but sweat soaked through his never-changing white clothes.
Passing through the not very large back garden, he paid little attention to the servants' greetings along the way. With a serious expression, he entered the study.
In the study, the already retired Sir Yan Ruohai was sitting opposite a girl playing chess. The chess pieces did not make too much noise when they landed on the stone ground, but the matte chess pieces emanated a murderous intent.
Seeing Yan Bingyun enter the room and sensing that his son's thoughts were strange, Yan Ruohai smiled warmly at the other side and said, "Miss Shen's mind is not on chess today."
The only surviving daughter of the previous commander of the Northern Qi Brocade Guards, Shen Zhong, who had fled to the Qing Kingdom, gave an embarrassed smile. She rose and bowed to Yan Ruohai. She then glanced at Yan Bingyun with concern and slowly walked out of the study. As she left, she carefully closed the door.
Yan Ruohai looked at his son and quietly said, "What happened?"
Yan Bingyun was silent for a moment. He then recounted Director Chen's orders in the Overwatch Council.
"Sir Fan junior is definitely going to be the Director." Yan Ruohai glanced lovingly at his son. "His energy will be placed in the court in the future. The specific Council affairs will certainly need someone to take care of. You've suffered a lot these years and done a lot for the court. Although in my opinion, you are still a bit young, but … Sir Fan junior trusts you so much. As the Commissioner of the Council, you have to help him well. "
For these old people, Fan Xian's future plans for the Overwatch Council were unusually clear. Other than his own Qinian Unit, the person Fan Xian trusted the most was Yan Bingyun. His plans for Yan Bingyun were not surprising.
"But …" Yan Ruohai's tone changed and he sighed. "Why is it the Commissioner? Your qualifications, your abilities … they are all very far off. "
He smiled mockingly. "You're not Sir Wu."
"You also know … that Sir Wu?" Yan Bingyun asked worriedly.
"I have been in the Council for a long time," Yan Ruohai said with a slight smile. "No matter what, this is a good thing. There is light in the family. Why are you so worried?"
"Those words … what were the last two lines?" Yan Bingyun asked worriedly.
"Oh," Yan Ruohai said lightly. Yan Ruohai said indifferently, "Those are two very treasonous words … No matter who says them, they will die."
Yan Ruohai smiled slightly and said, "Back then, someone once said those words, so even she … also died."
…
…
"Don't think too much," Yan Ruohai sighed. "There is no need to doubt the Director's loyalty to the Emperor. I think he is only worried about what happens after the Emperor. The so-called enduring humiliation to carry a heavy load is to preserve one's strength in impossible circumstances for the future. "
He stared into his son's eyes and asked each word clearly, "Perhaps … you will become a treacherous thief who sells out his master for glory, a shameless person cursed by tens of thousands of people. Are you mentally prepared for this?"
Yan Bingyun did not reply to his father's words. He only asked with unusual calmness, "Father, if … I say if, you had to choose between the Palace and the Council, what would you choose?"
What would he choose? It went without saying.
Yan Ruohai looked at his son with an amused gaze and sighed. "Silly child, naturally, I would choose the Council. If the old Director did not have this confidence in me, why would he say so much to you?"
Yan Bingyun smiled bitterly. He had not thought his father would answer so simply and clearly. He was silent for a moment and then calmly said, "I am your son, so I have mentally prepared myself."
"It has been hard on you, child."
Yan Ruohai abruptly blurted out these words without thinking.
… …
"These years, it has indeed been hard on him."
In the Qing Royal Palace, it was an ink-like night. The layers of palace eaves gave off a cold and strange feeling. The Qing Emperor wore a thin robe and stood in the night wind in front of Taiji Palace. He looked coldly at the square in front of the palace, enjoying the rare coolness.
In the corner of Taiji Palace, the eunuchs and serving girls who served the Emperor were all quietly avoiding this place. The guards responsible for his safety also carefully maintained their distance to ensure that they would not hear the conversation between the Emperor and the people beside him.
Chen Pingping sat in his wheelchair and gently stroked the wool blanket on his knees. He sighed and said, "Take it slowly. The resentment in a child's heart … I think it has calmed a lot these years."
The Emperor smiled slightly and said, "Actually, in the little building … that child should have already forgiven me … I just feel that I owe him something."
Chen Pingping smiled and replied in a slightly sharp voice, "Of the princes, he has the most power. What should be given to him has already been given to him. Although he is a bit stubborn, he is not an idiot. Of course, he understands Your Majesty's thoughts."
"What I am afraid of is that he doesn't care about these things." A glimmer of a smile surged between the Emperor's brows. "At the end of the year, he insisted on going to the Fan clan's ancestral hall. Was this not to express his resentment to me?"
The Emperor did not wait for Chen Pingping to open his mouth and continued, "I can give him status, but … not now. Tell him this for me. "
Chen Pingping knew what the Emperor meant. The empress dowager was still alive. The Emperor had to give her face. However, from these words, Fan Xian's actions these two years and the fact that he dared to take responsibility as a lone official had already made the Emperor have enough trust in him.
"Your Majesty has the heart," Chen Pingping said with a smile. Chen Pingping said with a smile. In reality, words like having a heart could not be used to describe a ruler of a generation. It was just that he had grown up with the Emperor, and in addition to the many things that had happened in the future, the relationship between ruler and official was not ordinary.
"My heart is only one aspect." The Emperor slowly shook his head. "What is important is that this child has the heart. Furthermore, he has the ability … the Northern Qi matter, the Jiangnan matter, and the Jiaozhou matter have given the court both face and substance. Furthermore, this child is not greedy for wealth or fame. It is truly rare."
Chen Pingping was silent for a moment and then said, "Should we bring him back?"
"Don't panic," the Emperor lightly said. "The Ming family still has a tail that has not been cut off. The Junshang Conference you talked about when you entered the Palace a few days ago … have An Zhi sweep through Jiangnan again."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Emperor suddenly turned his hand to grab the wheelchair and pushed it up, walking along the long corridor in front of Taiji Palace. As he pushed, he smiled and said, "You're not that old, but these years, you've shown signs of age. How can you still be covered in a wool blanket on such a hot day? Don't you think it's too hot? Has Fei Jie, that old bastard, given you medicine?"
"I'm a person who is about to die. What is the point of wasting medicine money?" Chen Pingping's white hair flew in the air on the wheelchair. "Please let go, Your Majesty. I cannot afford it."
Only when the two of them were alone would Chen Pingping refer to himself as an old servant.
"If I say you can afford it, then you can afford it," the Emperor said calmly. "Thinking back to when we were in King Cheng's manor, you were a little eunuch the Palace sent over. Ever since then, you served me every day. Now that we are both old, you serve me until your legs break. What if I help you push it a little? "
Chen Pingping shrunk his body and sighed a moment later. "Sometimes, when I think back, it seems like everything from yesterday is still before my eyes. I seem to still be accompanying Your Majesty, fighting with King Jing and Minister Fan … "
The Emperor was silent for a moment. He then sighed and said, "Yes … a few days ago, I was still thinking that it would be great if I could go back to Danzhou to see."
…
…
The Emperor going on an inspection was not such a simple matter. Thus, Chen Pingping didn't even think and directly said, "No."
The Emperor smiled slightly and said, "What are you worried about?"
Chen Pingping knew that there must be some big move hidden behind the Emperor's trip to Danzhou. In a raspy voice, he slowly said, "Have you made up your mind?"
The Emperor thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Not yet."
Without waiting for Chen Pingping to speak, the most powerful person in the world coldly said, "You and I are both people who crawled out of a pile of dead people. These small fights and clowns are not enough for me to want to deal with them. However, sometimes I am very greedy. If Yunrui truly has the ability to persuade those two old bastards to act … using this matter, we can complete the matter that we have always wanted to complete. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"Too dangerous." Chen Pingping sighed. In his heart, he was thinking about how to make the Emperor's intentions more determined.
The Emperor smiled slightly and said, "Isn't this what is sought amidst danger?"
In the distance, the serving girls and eunuchs watched this scene from a distance. Seeing the Emperor personally push Director Chen's wheelchair, they couldn't help but feel incomparably shocked. They also felt incomparably warm. Such a wonderful story between ruler and official was rarely seen in a thousand years.
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened afterwards, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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