The night in the capital was always deep, especially in such a cold winter. After nightfall, there were not many pedestrians on the streets. No, it should be said that there were no pedestrians at all.
There were no pedestrians, only night walkers.
Who knew how many night walkers used the cover of the night to appear under the eaves of the streets and alleys of the capital. They used the nooses, sharp blades, iron drills, chains on the doors, and powder in their arms to wrap around someone's neck, cut someone's throat, tear someone's body, or blind someone's eyes.
Blood blinded everyone's eyes.
In Purple Bamboo Park, a black rope hung down from the main gate. A person was struggling on the rope, his feet kicking helplessly in the cold wind.
The lantern was very dark. Just like the rope, it swayed slowly in the cold wind, casting shadows and faint light randomly on the ground. At the corner of the street, Deng Zi Yue's pale face flickered. He looked like a devil in the night. He stared at that person, and after confirming that he was dead, he turned and left.
In Guili Lane, inside a brothel, the red waves were rolling. On the bed, the expert with strong muscles suddenly opened his eyes. His white eyes were seeping with blood. The prostitute on his body looked at him coldly. Her legs were wide open, but she tightly gripped his waist. Her posture was obscene and fatal.
After an unknown amount of time, the prostitute's delicate white hands slowly moved away from the man's ears. She pulled out two extremely thin iron drills. The drills glowed with a faint blue light and a pitch-black color of blood.
In Gaoshan Tower, a chaotic sound of pursuit rang out. A person panicked and ran down the tower with a face full of fear. The clothes on his body had already been cut into countless pieces and were dripping with blood.
A moment later, he was blocked by his pursuers under the tower. The black-clothed man who was chasing him spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and waved his hand. The black-clothed men rushed up and surrounded the man. Although the man was highly skilled in martial arts and resisted with all his might, he was still like a whale surrounded by a school of sharks. Gradually, he was unable to hold on.
In the dark night, only the muffled sounds of metal piercing into flesh and the sound of the cold wind could be heard. The black-clothed men silently stabbed and swung until the man in the middle no longer had any reaction. He did not even have the slightest neurological reaction. He only crawled on the ground like a piece of rotten meat.
…
…
Yan Bingyun placed the report on the candle flame and burned it. His hands did not tremble, and his brows were no longer furrowed. Since it had already happened, there was no room for doubt. It was just like after a crossbow was pulled, no one could make the arrow that could kill disappear into thin air.
The eight generals that the Second Prince personally led numbered six. They had all died to the Overwatch Council's attacks. Through different methods and different places, they disappeared into the darkness of Jingdou.
From today onwards, the name of the Eight Generals would become a stale name in history. Perhaps, it would not even be qualified to leave a mark in history.
Yan Bingyun looked down at the piece of paper on the table and subconsciously pinched the bridge of his nose to clear his mind. According to the plan, it was time to move on to the next step. As for the remaining five people to be killed, there were already specialized people to take care of them.
The plan was linked to each other. Although it was the Overwatch Council's crazy revenge for the attack in the valley, Yan Bingyun still had to think of a way to control the situation to a certain extent. The Second Prince's eight generals were not officials. They were just private generals in the manor. For people like this, as long as the Overwatch Council killed them cleanly and left no evidence, the court would not be able to do anything to Fan Xian.
However, those five people were different.
The officials to be captured next were also different. Although they were unremarkable figures in various departments, they were, after all, paid by the court. What kind of trouble would it cause to capture so many in one night?
Yan Bingyun sighed. Through a secret mechanism, he notified his subordinates outside to come in and gave a second order. After giving the order, he habitually walked to the window and gazed into the distance at a corner of the Palace wall not far away. He thought to himself that what the Director had said was correct. Under the cover of Fan Xian's gentle appearance, there was indeed an element of madness hidden.
Presently, only a dozen trusted aides had died in the valley, and Fan Xian had already gone crazy. If it was really as the Director said and the day the Director passed away … what kind of terrifying person would Fan Xian become?
… …
In Baoyue Brothel, Fan Xian's expression was very warm and calm. His eyebrows were slightly raised with an indescribable comfort. It was as if he had no idea what was happening in Jingdou at night outside the brothel.
He had already finished talking about the attack in the valley. Regardless of whether the officials at the banquet had lingering fears or regrets, they all expressed their condolences to him. Immediately after, he briefly talked about the Jiangnan matter, the Ming family matter, and the palace treasury matter. He then furrowed his brows and said, "Actually, there is something I don't understand. When I was working for the court in Jiangnan, why did there always be people who liked to cause trouble in the capital?"
Everyone at the banquet was slightly startled. They wondered to themselves what exactly he was talking about. During the year Fan Xian was far away in Jiangnan, it was impossible to say that there were no people in Jingdou who tripped him up. But, if you were talking about tripping him up … one a day for 365 days. Which one were you talking about? Was it investigating the Ministry of Revenue? Or was it sending books into the Palace? Furthermore, these trippings had long been torn apart by those old fellows. You are completely fine, so why are you here wailing?
The Crown Prince couldn't resist laughing and scolding, "Where did all these grievances come from? There are certainly people who are not on your side, but you can't name anyone who is purposely dragging you down. "
Fan Xian also smiled and shook his head. "It's just that I haven't been back to Jingdou this year. I think perhaps many people in Jingdou have already forgotten what kind of personality I have."
The Second Prince was holding a wine cup and carefully tasting it. Hearing these words, for some reason, a chill rose in his heart. Tonight, the Crown Prince's behavior was too strange, and Fan Xian's attitude was too arrogant. It was arrogant to the point that it did not make sense and did not conform to the rules. It did not benefit him at all.
Was it because of the matter in the valley that he was in a hurry?
The Second Prince's brows furrowed together nicely. He thought to himself, We still haven't found out who did it. What is the point of messing around with us here?
At this moment, the Baoyue Brothel suddenly became lively. Hearing the sound of horse hooves, it seemed that many people were heading this way.
The Crown Prince, who was sitting at the head, furrowed his brows and said unhappily, "Who dares to make a ruckus here?"
Everyone at the table furrowed their brows and looked out the window.
It seemed that someone wanted to enter Baoyue Brothel and had already successfully passed through the Jingdou garrison and Jingdou government bailiffs' double line of defense. However, they were stopped outside the building by the people of Baoyue Brothel.
Fan Xian glanced at Sang Wen. Sang Wen understood and lifted the velvet curtain to flash past the side of the screen. In a moment, following a wave of hurried footsteps, Sang Wen brought five people up the stairs.
These five people were all wearing official robes, presumably officials of the imperial court. However, today was not a place to discuss important matters of the imperial court, but a place of pleasure. Everyone at the banquet recognized some of them as their trusted aides and couldn't help but be startled. They wondered what kind of game they were playing. Why would they come looking for them so openly? Could it be that something big had happened in the capital?
The five officials met each other's eyes. They could all see the unease, fear, and panic in each other's hearts. Without caring about anything else, they first apologized to the nobles at the banquet and then glanced fearfully at Fan Xian. They bowed to Fan Xian and, without avoiding gossip, went to the banquet to find the person they were looking for and moved close to his ear to speak.
Fan Xian smiled slightly as he watched this scene. He raised his wine cup and toasted Ren Shao 'an, who was beside the Crown Prince and the Great Prince. The Great Prince's Imperial Army system was clearly limited to the forbidden areas of the Palace. His reaction was a bit slow. However, the Crown Prince seemed to have guessed something. Today, he had purposely cut off his own eyes and ears. He had only come to Baoyue Brothel to get drunk.
The Great Prince looked at the tense situation around him and furrowed his brows as he glanced at Fan Xian. It was as if he was questioning him. Fan Xian shook his head to indicate that he didn't know what had happened.
On the other side, the expressions of the important figures who were listening to the reports from their subordinates gradually became unsightly, especially the Second Prince. His delicate and handsome face gradually became pale, and a trace of red quickly surged up, but after three breaths, it returned to normal.
Fan Xian watched this scene with slanted eyes. He knew that the other party already knew the news of the death of the eight generals. He had not thought that the Second Prince would be able to immediately control his state of mind. He couldn't help but feel slight admiration.
The Great Prince furrowed his brows and asked, "What happened?"
Everyone in the restaurant knew something had happened, but not everyone knew exactly what had happened. The Second Prince lowered his head slightly and raised his wine cup to take a shallow sip. Raising his head to look at Fan Xian, the smile in his eyes was slightly serious.
Enunciating each word, he asked, "Sir Fan junior must know."
The atmosphere was icy cold. The people who had received the news from Jingdou all stared at Fan Xian's face. They already knew that while they were feasting in Baoyue Brothel, a few murders had suddenly occurred in Jingdou. The eight most capable generals of the Second Prince had been completely wiped out.
These major figures had many eyes and ears in Jingdou. There were also the officials of the Bureau of Military Affairs responsible for the defense of the city. Of course, they knew how terrifying this kind of thing was, particularly to kill the eight generals so cleanly and efficiently. The power needed was not something a normal person could possess.
Thinking of how Fan Xian had invited everyone to Baoyue Brothel, everyone faintly guessed that this matter was done by the Overwatch Council.
Everyone was waiting for Fan Xian's reply. The atmosphere at the banquet was murderous and silent.
Fan Xian asked warmly, "What is it?"
The Second Prince smiled. There was some bitterness in his smile. There was a slight coldness in the depths of his heart. His legs were a little sore and numb. Looking at the young Commissioner of the Overwatch Council across from him, it was as if he was looking at a smiling demon. As a prince, he didn't know what kind of reaction he should immediately make.
Thus, he raised his cup and drank, emptying it in one gulp. There was a slight burning pain in his chest.
After a moment of silence, the Deputy of the Bureau of Military Affairs, Qu Xiangdong, stared into Fan Xian's eyes and said in a cold voice, "Murders have occurred one after another tonight. Six generals of the Second Prince's manor have been killed at the same time. Does Sir Fan junior know of this matter?"
After these words were said, the Great Prince, who didn't know what had happened, looked at Fan Xian in astonishment. Even the Crown Prince, who had been in the arms of a beauty pretending to be confused, let out a surprised cry and abruptly sat up from the beauty's arms.
The Crown Prince looked at Fan Xian's calm expression in a daze. He was incomparably shocked. He knew that Fan Xian did not have any good intentions today, but he truly had not thought that Fan Xian's counterattack would be so simple, direct, violent, unreasonable, and without fear of consequences.
Under everyone's gaze, Fan Xian tilted his head. With a glimmer of confusion and disdain, he quietly said, "Oh? They're all dead? "
At this moment, the Second Prince was about to put down his wine cup. Hearing Fan Xian's question, the emotions in his chest swayed. The anger, frustration, a glimmer of confusion, and a glimmer of hatred finally couldn't be controlled. When the cup fell, it was slightly heavy. The wine cup landed on the table with a bang and knocked the wine goblet beside it askew.
From the expressions of everyone at the banquet, he knew that the six generals were all dead. Fan Xian's heart felt as if a sweet spring had flowed through it. He didn't purposely hide his expression. Smiling slightly, he said, "How can the Second Prince's family generals ask me? I've always heard that the Second Prince's family generals walk very arrogantly in Jingdou. Perhaps they have offended someone they can't afford to offend. "
This was the first time he had referred to himself as an official since the banquet began. As for who in Jingdou the eight generals had offended but couldn't afford to offend, it was clear that person's surname was Fan.
The banquet was silent. The Second Prince stared at Fan Xian's face in a daze and suddenly smiled. He knew that regardless of whether or not Fan Xian had done this, for the Overwatch Council to have the ability to completely wipe out his martial power in such a short time at the banquet, the Overwatch Council's power was not something he, a prince, could face head-on.
He raised his cup to Fan Xian and said sincerely, "Commissioner, good methods … good courage."
Fan Xian raised his cup in greeting and said comfortingly, "Your Highness, my condolences. The dead don't go, the living don't come. Metabolism is always like this."
…
…
The Deputy of the Bureau of Military Affairs looked at the two seemingly similar "princes" in front of him. An absurd feeling involuntarily rose in the depths of his heart. Looking at it now, the Second Prince was far from being a match for Fan Xian. However, in terms of title, Fan Xian was, after all, an official. Where did he get such audacity from?
Qu Xiangdong suddenly felt that he was old and timid, but he still couldn't resist opening his mouth to ask Fan Xian, "Sir Fan junior, you should know about the Overwatch Council moving out everywhere tonight and capturing dozens of court officials, right?"
Fan Xian carefully placed the wine cup back on the table with both hands. He raised his head and said, "I am the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council and the head of the First Bureau. By imperial order, I oversee the governance of Jingdou. If I don't nod, who dares to capture those vermin?"
…
…
I had wanted to continue describing the conversation and killing in detail, using the inside and outside of the building as a comparison. Hymns rang out, snowflakes fell, were there any pigeons? Suddenly, I didn't want to write like that because it was too slow. This paragraph would take 60 to 70 thousand words, so I changed it. I felt a bit helpless, but I was actually quite interested.
There was another important point. Don't think of this matter as too exciting just because of the excitement of killing. In a hierarchical society, a society of slave masters and slaves, if it were to evolve into a war between slave masters, this bit of blood right now would not be enough.
Someone nodded. Someone was doing something. Violence was killing people. Yes, the situation in Jingdou was like that. Fan Xian was actually like the old Qin Master. He also liked to be simple, direct, and crude. He needed this kind of atmosphere. Although he was confident, he was not as perversely confident as the Emperor. (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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