"There's no need." Fan Xian shook his head and sighed. "Losing a son at an old age, I'm afraid this super ace will go crazy when he arrives and slaughter the royal family in this brothel. How will I explain it to the Emperor then?"
Everyone in the room felt their hearts skip a beat. They understood the meaning behind Fan Xian's words. These people were Fan Xian's trusted aides, so they knew what kind of tenacious and gloomy heart the Commissioner had under his gentle exterior. Naturally, they did not think he was being facetious. Yan Bingyun finally could not suppress the shock in his heart. He raised his head and asked, "Is it necessary?"
Fan Xian nodded calmly. His index finger was still rubbing between his brows as if he wanted to rub away all of the gloom these days. "Danzhou is good, Jingdou is difficult. Since the two sides, in the end, are in a situation of life and death, I'm used to acting first."
Among the people present, Fan Sizhe was closest to Fan Xian. However, he was too young. Hearing people like his elder brothers discuss a certain person's life and death so blatantly, he was unable to react. The others did not dare question Fan Xian's orders. Only Yan Bingyun persisted and said, "It's not a good thing to explode early."
Fan Xian shook his head and explained, "It won't explode early. The Emperor will certainly think of a way to turn the matter of me being assassinated into something beneficial for the court. However, for the Council, I'm afraid it won't be of any benefit."
After saying a few more words about the future matters of the Overwatch Council in Jingdou, this secret brothel meeting ended. Chen Pingping was basically no longer in charge of matters. The old leaders of the eight bureaus of the Overwatch Council calmly made way. Fan Xian and Yan Bingyun discussed and could basically confirm most of the matters.
Wang Qinian and Deng Zi Yue left first and began to prepare the matters the Commissioner had ordered. As Yan Bingyun left, he couldn't resist turning his head and furrowing his brows. "Killing Yan Xiaoyi's son … this is admittedly a very serious warning, but it will also drive a ferocious tiger crazy. Presumably, you have other plans in your heart that you have not made clear."
Fan Xian was silent for a moment. He then said, "Correct, I won't hide this from you. As a superior ninth-level ace, Yan Xiaoyi is the martial and military power the other party can rely on the most. Even if I have to pay the price of my official career, I will fight to get rid of him early. "
He did not reveal his thoughts completely.
Yan Xiaoyi was different from the Ye and Qin families. This person did not have a cooperative relationship with the Eldest Princess. Rather, he had a loyal relationship. In the end, he would become an obstacle on Fan Xian's path. Fan Xian was not like the Qing Emperor, who had that kind of abnormal self-confidence. Thus, he always had a strange feeling toward Yan Xiaoyi's arrows. He always felt his heart palpitate.
Before the big explosion came, if he could destroy this divine bow of the Qing Kingdom's north, Fan Xian felt that his life would be much happier.
Killing Yan Xiaoyi's son would only make that peerless expert go crazy, and killing this peerless expert would most likely make the Eldest Princess go crazy.
Fan Xian liked this kind of unusually exciting and risky attempt. Even if this matter could bring about many variables and could cause the Emperor's will to shift in an instant, he still wanted to try it like crazy.
He wanted to wipe away the shadow of the arrow in his heart.
Yan Bingyun looked at Fan Xian like he was looking at a madman. A moment later, he sighed and said, "Governor Yan's cultivation is astonishing. How could he be so easy to kill? Even in the entire Council, there is no way to find someone who can defeat him. Even if you weren't injured, you wouldn't be able to kill him with your sword, much less now that you are injured. Also, presumably, the Director did not make such crazy arrangements."
"No," Fan Xian shook his head. "The old cripple is probably even crazier than me. I don't want to be driven to death by his madness. If I want to protect my life, I also have to be a bit crazier."
"Other than the two of you, I don't want anyone else to know what I'm thinking." Fan Xian patted Sizhe's shoulder and stared at Yan Bingyun. "The words we said in the hills outside Jingdou in the past still count. If you want to follow me and create a large situation, sometimes, I hope you can be more attentive to me and not just to the Overwatch Council and court."
Yan Bingyun knew he was talking about the path of powerful officials and the joy of the world. He sighed. Worry appeared between his brows and he went downstairs.
…
…
Pushing open the window on the third floor of Baoyue Brothel that faced the street, Fan Xian and his brother looked at the snowy scene on the street through the railing and were speechless for a long time.
Snowflakes slowly floated down from the sky and gently landed on people's hats, shoulders, umbrellas, and the roofs of carriages. Jingdou was solemn and was mainly dark. Particularly, the street in front of Baoyue Brothel was filled with black carriages of the Overwatch Council. Inside and outside the carriages were Overwatch Council officials in deep black rain-proof lotus robes. It looked even darker.
Fortunately, there was endless snow that slightly removed the darkness. Pure white snowflakes adorned the completely black world and formed a clear and beautiful picture.
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked down. Wang Qinian and his group had left. Deng Zi Yue had left. Yan Bingyun, who was the last to leave the building, had also left. The Overwatch Council officials and secret agents on the street had disappeared without a trace in an instant.
He couldn't resist smiling slightly. Presently, his subordinates all had at least a dozen capable people by their side. In court and officialdom, who dared to be disrespectful to these trusted aides of Sir Fan junior? These capable trusted aides had also helped Fan Xian lay out an even larger power net, making Fan Xian's position in the Qing Kingdom even more stable and high.
The so-called system was stacked layer by layer like this. However, the glory today was not something that the young man who had just entered Jingdou and muddleheadedly formed the Qinian Unit could have imagined.
"Don't tell father what I said today." Fan Xian tilted his head and glanced at his brother. Warmly, he said, "I don't want him to worry about us juniors."
Fan Sizhe made a sound of acknowledgement and chuckled. "Brother, it's useless even if you say it. Father is good at managing the national treasury, but when it comes to killing people, he can't help you much. He's nowhere near as powerful as your Overwatch Council."
Fan Xian smiled.
The 80 Tiger Guards the royal family usually used as guards could be said to be the most powerful martial force other than the Imperial Army guards. Even if not all of them were as powerful as Gao Da who used a knife, seven Tiger Guards could defeat Begonia Duoduo. How terrifying were these 80?
Their serious and honest father had secretly trained so many aces for the royal family. Given Fan Xian's understanding of his father's temperament, it was impossible that he didn't keep some powerful people for himself in the Fan manor.
Such a Minister of Revenue had long left the power of a minister. Killing people? Fan Xian looked at his brother and shook his head. He didn't say anything. Thinking back to the time when the Emperor and the empress dowager's own brother had been beheaded by our father with one strike. Who dared to say he didn't know how to kill people?
However, his father was used to enduring silently. He was used to calmly staying out of things and watching them happen, so not many people knew of his ruthlessness. Only old foxes like Chen Pingping and Prime Minister Lin knew the true power of this Minister of Revenue.
However, Fan Xian did not want his father to suddenly change his way of doing things because of his own matters.
"Did you see Ruoruo in Shangjing?" Fan Xian lightly changed the topic. It was better to let his father maintain that serious and pedantic image in his brother's heart. However, ever since Ruoruo had learned from Ku He, there had only been some letters sent to Jiangnan. Afterward, there had been no news of her.
Although Fan Xian knew very well that nothing had happened to his sister through Haitang's relationship with the Northern Qi Emperor, the brother-sister relationship was deep. He would always miss her.
"I've seen her a few times," Fan Sizhe said with a smile. "She is studying medicine with Imperial Advisor Ku He and has some fame in Shangjing. However, I heard that she went to Xi Mountain to gather herbs in the second half of the year. She is cultivating in the mountains and hasn't come back."
Fan Xian laughed coldly and scolded, "Ku He, that old bald donkey, is truly shameless to the extreme. In the original agreement, I didn't give them anything less, yet it's just to teach Ruoruo medicine? Does she need to learn medicine from him? With me or Sir Fei, which one isn't better than him? He just doesn't want to pass on the Heart of Tianyi Dao to my sister, yet he's found all these excuses. "
He spoke angrily, but Fan Sizhe listened to him with shock. Although this kid was also a troublemaker who feared nothing but his brother's big feet, he had lived in Northern Qi for a long time. He had long been infected by the Northern Qi people's god-like reverence for Imperial Advisor Ku He. Hearing his brother repeatedly call him a bald donkey, although he didn't know what the allusion was to bald donkey, presumably, it was an ugly thing to hear. He couldn't help but feel a bit scared. He thought to himself that his brother was indeed the most daring and confident person in the world.
Although Ku He had been secretive, the exchange of students this time had been an accessory to the escape marriage. Fan Xian did not expect his sister to be taught by Ku He to become a second Begonia Duoduo. Additionally, the supreme Heart of Tianyi Dao had long been secretly given to Fan Xian by Duoduo, who had turned to outsiders. He no longer verbally humiliated the untrustworthy Northern Qi higher-ups. Instead, he furrowed his brows and said,
Instead, he furrowed his brows and said, "I've checked the files for the aces you recruited in Northern Qi. Although their backgrounds are clean and they have always been hidden in the wilderness, you have to be careful. I think the Northern Qi royal family must have placed a few spies at your side."
The so-called clean backgrounds referred to the Northern Qi aces with curved knives at Fan Sizhe's side. They did not have any official or Brocade Guard backgrounds.
Fan Sizhe nodded. Although he still had a smile on his face, a cold light flashed through his eyes. "Don't worry, big brother. I've already found out who it is. If the Northern Qi court doesn't send people at my side, they will certainly not be at ease. Thus, I still have to use these people. They can be free bodyguards. They won't be sent out in a short time. However, I will avoid those important matters."
Fan Xian was surprised. He hadn't expected his brother to have noticed these details. He couldn't help but pat his brother's back in praise. "Your bones are strong, and your thoughts are much more detailed. It seems that being banished to the north has indeed improved." He immediately smiled and said, "There's no need to worry too much. Right now, Northern Qi is still counting on a young merchant like you to buy palace treasury goods for them. They won't easily offend you."
The Baoyue Brothel was already empty. Even the ruffians standing at the corners of the alleys had pulled on their hats and disappeared without a trace. Fan Xian stood by the railing and watched this scene. A strange smile rose to the corners of his lips. All the powers in Jingdou had their eyes on the Baoyue Brothel, but he was too lazy to avoid anything. Everyone knew he would retaliate, and they were all guessing how he would retaliate without any concrete evidence.
He would let people guess.
"There is something you need to tell me in detail." Fan Xian's eyes were still staring at the snowflakes outside the window. He didn't turn his head back as he asked quietly.
Fan Sizhe asked curiously, "What is it?"
"The story of that sword." Fan Xian lowered his head slightly. His tone was calm. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. "Where did Wang Qinian get this sword?"
Fan Sizhe's heart trembled. He didn't understand why his brother would have doubts about his most trusted aide, but he didn't dare say anything. He only repeated the story he had learned in Shangjing. The taking of the sword, the purchase of the sword, and the delivery of the sword were all arranged by Wang Qinian. There was nothing strange.
However, Fan Xian sensed something fishy in this story. He smiled bitterly and lowered his head to glance at his waist. There was nothing there. The Emperor's sword that the Emperor had given him was not convenient to carry around.
"Listening to you, there is a very interesting detail." He shook his head and sighed. "The news has been out for so many days. Even if Wang Qinian had your silver to help him, it would still be impossible for him, a Qing person, to buy this sword. Although tens of thousands of liang of silver is a lot, it can't compare to the hot-bloodedness of the Northern Qi people. This is the sword of the Wei Emperor. How could the Northern Qi royal family let him buy it? Lao Wang has been stable all his life. It's just that he likes to flatter me too much. Why didn't he think of this? "
Fan Sizhe's eyes spun a few times and said curiously, "Brother, you mean to say … this sword was purposely released by the Northern Qi royal family and was given to you through Sir Wang's hands?"
Fan Xian nodded.
Fan Sizhe didn't understand and said, "Why is that?"
Fan Xian turned around and patted his brother's shoulder. The two brothers sat back at the table and drank a few mouthfuls of tea before he explained, "Using the sword to separate people. Although it won't be of much use right now, and Northern Qi wouldn't want me to lose my position in the Qing Kingdom right now, this is a kind of attitude and foreshadowing. Accumulating over time, one day, it will reach a critical point …"
He mockingly said, "The little Emperor of Northern Qi is not simple. In these two years, he has quietly taken power step by step from his mother's hands. He has yet to cause any major tremors in the Northern Qi court. This kind of monarchical scheming is not much less than that of our Emperor. To deal with someone like me, of course, he has a long-term plan in his heart. This sword is only the beginning. "
Sowing dissension had always been a small path in history, but it was also a trick that had been tried and tested time and time again. Because people were often suspicious, the black veins on the surface of the Emperor's heart were densely engraved with question marks and exclamation marks. The Wei Emperor's sword from Northern Qi was by Fan Xian's side a great taboo. If he had not handled it appropriately and acted quickly to send the sword into the Palace, who knew what the Qing Emperor would feel in his heart.
Fan Sizhe clicked his tongue and sighed. "Politics is indeed complicated. Although my departure from Shangjing was secretive, before I left, the Northern Qi Emperor summoned me into the Palace and had me bring a message to you. Presumably, he knew I would be making a trip back home."
Fan Xian furrowed his brows and asked, "What message?"
"Looks like it is not a normal color. The color depends on his ice and snow." Fan Sizhe looked at his brother's handsome face and said enviously, "It's these two lines of poetry. It looks like the Emperor's great love for the Story of the Stone is indeed not a lie. Every time he enters the Palace, he always brings the topic to you. There is an indescribable love and respect."
Fan Xian laughed in spite of himself. These two lines were from a section in the Dream of the Red Chamber about the red plum blossoms. In itself, it could not be considered outstanding. However, the Northern Qi Emperor had traveled thousands of li to give this poem to him. The hidden meaning was difficult to fathom.
He turned his body to look at the wind and snow outside the window. Shaking his head, he smiled and said, "The Northern Kingdom has ice and snow. The Qing Kingdom also has ice and snow. Let's forget about this invitation."
The conversation had come to an end. However, a faint worry welled up in Fan Xian's heart. He didn't know why the Northern Qi Emperor regarded him with such favor. He knew he was the illegitimate child of the Qing Emperor, yet he still did not forget to incite a rebellion. Why did this seemingly impossible mission make the Emperor talk about it so enthusiastically? Could the other party truly guess his thoughts, the story of the past, and the present situation and rush to stand at the city gates to welcome him with a smile?
… …
When Fan Xian returned to the manor, he couldn't avoid being scolded by his father again. Sizhe's safe return made Lady Liu overjoyed. Tears streamed down her face. Although Minister Fan was angry at his two sons' audacity and ordered Fan Sizhe not to leave the manor and had everyone in the manor keep quiet, the comfort between his brows could not be hidden from Fan Xian's eyes.
After a while in Baoyue Brothel, the Fan manor was immersed in a warm mood. The Overwatch Council had already begun to move. Yan Bingyun coldly narrated the matter of the investigation into the attack in the valley at the Council meeting. Although he did not have any specific suspects, he did not avoid pointing to the military. Thus, he requested that the entire Council use its power to begin combing through the human traffic in Dingzhou and Cangzhou over the past two months.
This proposal was a bit strange. Without the Emperor's explicit edict, the Overwatch Council had no power at all against the higher-ups in the military. Yan Bingyun's proposal seemed to be purely to make the seemingly peaceful life in Jingdou livelier. However, Sir Yan junior had the powerful support of Chen Pingping and Fan Xian, as well as the help of a few elders. Additionally, all of the Council officials and secret agents held a grudge against the attack in the valley, so they did not oppose it.
Strangely, the Palace also did not say anything.
Wang Qinian returned to the Qinian Unit. He did not immediately take over Deng Zi Yue's position. His people and subordinates disappeared into Jingdou. No one knew what they were going to do.
Only the First Bureau, which Fan Xian still personally managed, was relatively lively. After a full year and a half of open action, the position of the First Bureau yamen in Jingdou was no longer as awkward. The people of Jingdou had also gradually gotten used to seeing the notices on the wall outside the First Bureau yamen.
For example, yesterday, he had caught the corrupt official and today, he had found a parasite in a certain department. After Fan Xian had cleaned up the First Bureau, these kinds of shady and private matters of the court were openly posted. The people of Jingdou often read them like they were reading a legendary crime solving novel.
One day, the old notices on the wall were suddenly torn down. After washing them with snow water, the temporary head of the First Bureau, Mu Tie, whose face was like black iron, personally brushed the paste and pasted a new piece of paper on the wall.
The people gathered around curiously. They saw that it was not a case, it was just a few witty words.
"Thirteenth Wang, are you hungry? If you are, tell the girl that the girls will make noodle soup for you."
The people looked at each other and thought, What is the Overwatch Council, or rather, Sir Fan junior, who had just been assassinated, playing at?
…
…
On the last day of the month, I spread my hands and asked for monthly votes. At the same time, I shook everyone's hands tightly. Next month's monthly votes are all mine. They are all mine. (To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. QIDIAN. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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