Fan Xian held Sizhe's hand as they walked out of the bookstore. Suddenly, he thought of something. He turned around and said to Shopkeeper Ye in a sincere tone, "About the matter we talked about a few days ago, I would like to trouble you to arrange it.
Shopkeeper Ye did not understand why this young master was interested in the survivors of Qingyu Hall, but he still nodded in agreement. The seventeen shopkeepers had long since grown accustomed to life in the capital, working for various manors. Although they could not run their own businesses, their lives could be considered wealthy.
Fan Sizhe asked curiously, "Big Brother, what arrangements?"
"Do you know what kind of place Qingyu Hall is?"
"Of course I do." Fan Sizhe had offered a large sum of money to hire this Shopkeeper Ye, so of course Fan Sizhe knew about him. He said, "These are the shopkeepers of the Ye family. If I could run a business and have a group of capable people, how great would that be?"
Fan Xian was startled. He increasingly felt that he had been too careful. It seemed that the name of the Ye family had long since become a thing of the past. The people of the capital no longer saw it as some sort of taboo. When he boarded the carriage that had come to pick him up, he found Ruoruo waiting inside. Fan Xian blamed himself. "If I had known you were coming, I would have come out earlier." Fan Sizhe looked at his sister and felt an inexplicable fear. "I just came to take a look. This business has nothing to do with me. Don't tell Father."
Hearing this, Fan Ruoruo's originally indifferent face showed a trace of a smile. "We're all family. Who would want you to be flogged?"
Dongchuan Road, which had been noisy during the day, was now quiet. Fan Manor's carriage rattled toward the eastern part of the capital. That was the home of the three boys and girls in the carriage. The sun was setting, and the carriage's shadow was long. It slid forward on the flagstones of the street, bouncing up and down as the flagstones rose and fell. It seemed as if it were struggling to escape the coolness of the flagstones and plunge into the fiery red of dusk.
— — — —
It was still the same old saying. Fan Xian felt that his current family life was quite happy. Happiness was such a thing. Since he had already grasped a few strands of hair in his hands, he had to hold on tighter. So Count Sinan, Fan Jian, was constrained by his official status and was unable to find out the truth of the assassination attempt against him, so he had to endure it for now. However, Fan Xian was currently a free and unfettered person, so he had no misgivings.
In order to complete the three goals of his rebirth, he could not accept being in an unsafe environment. In his previous life, the United Nations had once said that people should have the freedom to be free from fear. Although Fan Xian did not understand politics, he thought to himself, even if I wear it, I still have human rights, right?
Wang Qinian sat at the table, his face ashen. He had rented this house with Master Fan's banknotes before he left the capital. It was in an inconspicuous location, and no one should have noticed it.
Fan Xian quickly pushed the tea over and said, "You've worked hard."
Seeing him use honorifics, Wang Qinian didn't dare accept it. He hurriedly reported the mission. "As you expected, when Si Lili and her party returned to the capital, they were intercepted. However, the Council was prepared and defeated the enemy in one fell swoop. According to Master's orders, after leaving Cangzhou, I have been following the troops in the Council. Those people who tried to intercept us were disguised as horse bandits, but looking at their movements, they should be soldiers. "
Fan Xian was startled. How did the military get involved? He carefully asked, "Is it the provincial government army or what?"
"I'm not sure." Wang Qinian thought for a moment, then said, "According to Master's orders, we only followed them. In the end, we discovered that the leading officer had escaped to Wuzhou."
"Wuzhou?"
"Correct. That night, the officer met with the Wuzhou army." Wang Qinian suddenly remembered that there were some things he had to explain. He quickly said, "Actually, there was someone else who followed them with me."
"Who?"
"Zong Zhui."
Fan Xian suddenly understood. "You once said that Zong Zhui, who was as famous as you were back then. Didn't you say that he was always by Master Chen's side?" He suddenly understood. It seemed that, like him, the Overwatch Council was also using Si Lili to track down clues behind the scenes.
"Yes. That day, I saw Director Chen's carriage from afar. The Black Knights were also there. Otherwise, there was no way they could have resisted the cavalry. " Wang Qinian was a little embarrassed. "Master Fan, since the Council is already investigating, should we continue?"
"Hmm, let's not rush into this. Who in the court is the Wuzhou army subordinate to? "
"They are very careful. The army officer's surname is Fang, and his first name is Xiu. He doesn't have much of a background, but he is a distant relative of General Fang of the City Patrol Division. "
Fan Xian furrowed his brows in thought. The City Patrol Division must have played a dishonorable role in this matter. But how should he dig further? In other words, should he really continue digging? If too many important figures were involved, it would be difficult to clean up the mess. He, who had been promoted by the court as a heroic figure, might be forced to play another role.
He took a deep breath. His lips were a little pale. "When will Si Lili arrive?" he asked quietly.
"Tomorrow." Wang Qinian looked at him and suddenly said, "The Director is also returning to the capital tomorrow. Master Fan, should we first ask for the Director's permission before asking for Si Lili to be interrogated?"
"What about Master Fei?"
"I don't think so."
Hearing that Fei hadn't returned to the capital, Fan Xian was a little disappointed. But thinking that Chen Pingping would be returning soon, his spirits rose. The Overwatch Council had been created by his mother. Although so many years had passed, people's hearts would always change. But the scene he saw when he was born into this world, and his teacher's careful teaching, made Fan Xian believe that the Overwatch Council was not an enemy or a friend. It was one of his own.
At this moment, he felt like a motherless child who was being bullied, and suddenly a large group of burly uncles came to help him fight. The little fellow wiped away the dirty tears on his face as he thought, "F * ck you, who else in the capital would dare to bully me in the future?"
At that moment, Wang Qinian suddenly laughed. "Congratulations, Master." It seemed that even he, who had just returned to the capital, knew that Fan Xian had become Functionary of Taichang Temple. It was just that most people didn't know who he would marry in the palace. Fan Xian smiled helplessly and didn't say anything.
— — —
There was a saying in the officialdom of the Kingdom of Qing: "There is nothing in the world that the Overwatch Council can't find out, even if it's the silver you hide in your chamber pot." Fan Xian also believed this. Although his father's subordinates hadn't found any clues, if there was anyone in the world who could find out, it had to be Chen Pingping. For the sake of safety, Fan Xian had Wang Qinian temporarily stop his activities. He only had him arrange for some people to closely follow the Council's every move.
The entire officialdom reacted to Director Chen's return to the capital. It was said that the night Chen Pingping returned, he was summoned to the palace by the Emperor. After a long night of discussion, the Emperor let the tired Chen Pingping return to his manor. The civil and military officials were envious of Chen Pingping's undiminished royal favor, but they also silently cursed that the old man had fallen ill from overwork and should have retired.
While the Director was in the palace, the Overwatch Council's operations were carried out in an orderly manner. That night, a large group of officials from the First Bureau of the Overwatch Council broke into the city patrol yamen with a murderous aura and began to search. Another group headed straight for the manor of the general in the south of the city.
…
…
On a tall tree outside the Brigadier General's Manor, Fan Xian held the branch firmly with both hands. The zhenqi in his body slowly flowed, quietly disappearing into the dense foliage. His eyes were cold as he looked at the chaos in the manor.
Not long after, the operation was over.
The disappointed officials of the Overwatch Council retreated from the back courtyard, bringing with them a disappointing result: General Fang Daren of the City Patrol had committed suicide to escape punishment. Just an hour before the Overwatch Council arrived, he had hanged himself from a beam.
Fan Xian sighed and waited for the crowd to disperse before slipping down the tree. Walking on the quiet night street, he was still thinking about this matter. Fang Daren was a military general. Even though his collusion with Northern Qi had been exposed and he had chosen to commit suicide, pulling out a knife and cutting his own throat seemed to be more in line with a martial man's personality. His death by hanging was too full of resentment in the palace. It was probably not something he was willing to do.
His heart jumped, and he could no longer restrain himself. He went to the address Wang Qinian had left him. The Wang family's house was in an ordinary alley in the south of the city. At night, the men would lie outside in the shade and sip tea, but the wives of the wives would be locked up. Fan Xian walked along the street inconspicuously, found the right place, and disappeared into the dark corner of the alley.
Although Wang Qinian was a low-ranking official, he was still a member of the Overwatch Council. The reason why he seemed so poor after his resignation was because he had used all his savings to buy this small courtyard.
When Fan Xian entered the courtyard, Wang Qinian was looking at his son with a face full of love. He was fanning himself with a large palm-leaf fan. Hearing some movement, he alertly turned his head and saw Fan Xian's clean and beautiful face. He couldn't help but be shocked.
"Shh!" Fan Xian gestured to him and quietly followed him to a quiet place.
Wang Qinian didn't think that after reporting to the young man earlier in the day, Fan Xian would immediately come looking for him again. With a face full of suspicion, he asked, "Sir, what happened?"
Fan Xian told him about Fang Daren's suicide. Wang Qinian frowned. "They acted quickly. This is going to be difficult."
"Take me to the prison. I want to see Si Lili," Fan Xian said.
"The Council is investigating. If we interfere now, won't it cause a misunderstanding?" Wang Qinian was more thorough in his considerations than Fan Xian.
Fan Xian thought for a moment, then said helplessly, "Sir Chen has been summoned to the palace. I'm afraid something might happen in the prison."
Wang Qinian thought that he really had to hurry. "Sir," he said respectfully, "it's best if you don't get involved in these matters. Let me handle it."
Fan Xian shook his head. "Let's go together." To tell the truth, he had always been curious about the Overwatch Council's prison. Of course, he was also curious about Si Lili.
It was already night in the capital. In the darkness that was as thick as ink, there was a sprinkling of light. The Liujing River was the brightest, followed by the alley. And the darkest place among the ink was the Overwatch Council. That night, Wang Qinian led a mysterious man in a gray robe into the Overwatch Council's prison.
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