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Chapter 176: The First Visit to the Manor
News of the incident at the Ministry of Justice quickly spread through the city. The expected counterattack by the
Overwatch Council, the Prime Minister, and Minister Fan against the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Censorate had
not immediately unfolded, contrary to the expectations of every bureaucrat.
And in the court exams, the Emperor of the Kingdom of Qing had finally quietly shown his attitude. Fan Xian’s preferred
scholars had entered the 2nd rank of candidates. As for the first, second, and third place titles – zhuangyuan, bangyan,
and tanhua respectively – they unsurprisingly went to scholars whose names had long been established. Fan Xian was
well aware that these three names had appeared on those pieces of paper, and he had taken that step when he was
sealing the names on the exam papers.
His Majesty clarified his position further on the exam hall scandal in the specific circumstances of the top-grade court
examination. During a feast, the officials were extremely surprised to discover fifth-level academician Fan Xian of the
Imperial College sitting somewhat coyly and uneasily before them, seated to the right of the Crown Prince and the
Second Prince, smiling bashfully. It seemed that he had not been drinking that day, so he lacked the frenzy of the night in
which he had spat out his 300 poems. He seemed a little uncomfortable with the acclaim of the masses.
After Fan Xian’s chaos at the Ministry of Justice, the officials of the capital soon knew of his real identity, and moreover
knew that the Overwatch Council were using it as a pretext to cause havoc, using Commissioner Fan Xian’s extralegal
status to completely tear into Justice Minister Han Zhiwei and Censor Guo Zheng. There was news that the palace had
also kicked up a fuss.
The bureaucrats had always found it difficult to get a hold of the countless spies with the secretive position of
Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, and to connect Fan Xian with a position that secretly held the lives of officials in
their hands. But regardless, when the officials looked at Fan Xian anew, they saw not only a scholar-official and the son
of a noble family with powerful backers, but for the first time, they had a sense of Fan Xian’s true power.
After the court exams, the civil service exam hall scandal was still under the jurisdiction of the Overwatch Council, who
were slowly and steadily investigating it. Commissioner Fan Xian had relaxed somewhat – he knew that people in the
know had guessed that he was preparing to go abroad as ambassador in the next few days.
It was the third of March. After the court exams, the banquet, and the various other celebrations concluded, Yang Wanli,
Hou Jichang, Cheng Jialin, and Shi Chanli – those four scholars whose luck had turned in an instant – finally had some
spare time. They sat a little uneasily in a carriage, and came to the gate of Fan Manor, on a big avenue in the south of the
city.
Yang Wanli lifted his head to look at the imposing gate of Fan Manor, and anxiously looked at the ferocious stone lions
guarding the gate. “I’m kind of nervous,” he mumbled.
Hou Jichang was the calmest of the four, but this was the first time he had ever been to such an opulent estate, and he
was also somewhat nervous. He forced a smile. “We have all met young Master Fan before. Not only is he young and
promising, he has an engaging tone of conversation, unlike the other repulsive officials of the court. What have we to
worry about?”
By their side, Cheng Jialin muttered something indecipherable. They had all been harrassed by the Ministry of Justice and
the Overwatch Council over the past few days. Theoretically, the court exams having concluded, they had all come to
Fan Xian’s door to pay their respects to him regardless. After that day in the Tongfu Tavern, the four skillful scholars had
suddenly discovered that the terrifying Overwatch Council of the Kingdom of Qing were moving against them and
against the bailiffs of the thirteen offices. It had almost scared them to death.
Shi Chanli’s temperament was the most gentle and easygoing. This time he hadn’t passed, so he seemed more relaxed
than the other three. He laughed at them. “You look pretty worried to me. But I don’t think it’s the kind of worry that
comes from paying respects to one’s teacher. It’s from discovering that young Master Fan has suddenly changed, and
become a Commissioner of the Overwatch Council. There’s a sense of dread. Am I right, brothers?”
Yang Wanli looked at the stone lions again, and laughed bitterly. “Who’d have thought that in the space of two days, the
immortal poet Fan Xian would suddenly turn out to be one of the most powerful officials in the Overwatch Council? You
know what a terrifying place the Overwatch Council is. The court officials have always been somewhat afraid of it. If
young Master Fan is part of the Overwatch Council, then his reputation must be rather shocking.”
“That’s just the prejudice of ignorant commoners,” said Shi Chanli, laughing. “You said it yourself in the Tongfu Tavern
that day. It’s a good thing that the Overwatch Council is monitoring officials.” He turned to Hou Jichang, who seemed to
have somewhat taken exception. “After Minister Guo was sent to prison, you toasted to the Overwatch Council. How
come? Now we have discovered that our master is a high official in the Council, and you all want to keep a respectful
distance like the rest of the common people?”
Yang Wanli sighed. “Everyone knows that the exam hall scandal came about as a result of young Master Fan’s work. Only
after did we understand that he was working for the Overwatch Council the entire time. With this act, not only did he
contribute to our futures, but more importantly, he has helped every scholar in the land walk a more equitable path.
Everyone is grateful. Even after they found out that he was a Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, there’s not a
scholar out there who would dare not to show him respect. As for us, there’s nothing more to say. Even if Master Fan
stays at the Overwatch Council for good, we should still follow him. There’s no point discussing this anymore, Brother
Shi; I’ve already made my decision.
Hou Jichang smiled. “You’re right. But it’s a pity that every person in a high post at the Overwatch Council, according to
the customs of the court, can never become Prime Minister. It’s a shame that young Master Fan is such a talented
scholar.”
At that moment Cheng Jialin seized the chance to butt in. “If Master Fan still has that status, then his career cannot
develop too much further. I have heard that next year he will take control of the palace treasury, so if he can take up a
post at the Overwatch Council, then it is not that much of a pity.”
They all understood that he was talking about Fan Xian’s status as “son-in-law of the Emperor”. When they thought of
their master, so many years younger than them, occupying so many different positions, they couldn’t help but marvel at
him. The four of them debated quietly outside the gate of Fan Manor for a long time. Finally, gathering their courage,
they stepped inside, handing over the name cards that they had prepared a long while ago.
The gatekeeper at Fan Manor had been watching the four talented scholars, and with a suspicious look, he took their
name cards, and realized that they were the four whose names that had been bandied around the capital for a while
now. The servants of Fan Manor all knew that their young master had invited these four scholars, and here they were.
They quickly invited them inside and waited on them, serving them tea.
The four of them knew that this was the custom of noble families – every guest who entered first had to be waited upon
and served tea at the gate. To their surprise, a moment later, the gatekeeper came back to them, somewhat apologetic.
“The young master has stepped out and is not currently in the manor. Sirs, would you like to leave a message for him, or
come back another time?”

The four of them could not help but feel somewhat disappointed, but for some reason, they also felt relieved. At that
moment, a sedan chair stopped by the side door. The gatekeeper hurried out to greet them. Out from the sedan chair
stepped a solemn-looking middle-aged official, with soft and spirited eyes. As he walked through the gate, he stopped to
look at the four scholars.
The gatekeeper, seeing that his master had stopped, began to introduce them, but his master waved his hand
dismissively, turned to the four of them, and spoke calmly. “Which of you is Yang Wanli? Shi Chanli? Hou Jichang? Cheng
Jialin?”
Hou Jichang was stunned. Not only had the man known their identities without asking, but he had asked their names
without omitting a single one. It seemed that he did not wish for them to presume he favored any one of them over the
others. Such an attentive-minded person must have been young Master Fan’s father. He hurriedly bowed in respect. “I
am Hou Jichang. It is an honor to meet you, Minister.”
The other three finally realized that this official was young Master Fan’s father, and they also hurriedly showed their
respects.
Count Sinan smiled and looked at Hou Jichang, speaking with a small measure of praise. “It seems that Fan Xian chose
well in his estimations. He is not currently here. But if you do not mind my prattling, I would like to invite you inside for a
chat.”
How should they address their master’s father? Although all four scholars were rising stars in the bureaucracy of the
Kingdom of Qing, in the face of this wily old minister, they dared not say a word. They merely followed behind him
obediently.
The ugliest building on Tianhe Avenue remained silent in the spring sunshine. The famous petals on either side of the
road had yet to fall into the water. Because it was still early spring, the flowers had not yet bloomed; they were unwilling
to part with their clothing and cast it into the waters.
The common people of the capital still stuck to their old customs, and kept far away from the Overwatch Council. The
stone tablet outside the gate quietly watched them, as if it were saying “the Council watches over you, why are you so
afraid?” There was no point asking why the common people feared the Overwatch Council, just as Yang Wanli and the
other scholars did. People feared the secretive institution for no reason. Because there was no light in that office, it
seemed to have only secrets and darkness.
Inside the square building of the Overwatch Council, the seven bureau chiefs sat soberly at a long table. They knew that
today’s discussions were particularly unusual, so they looked at the crippled Director at the head of the table with
doubting glances. After the leader of the First Bureau, Zhu Ge, had killed himself in that very room, the First Bureau had
been without a chief. Mu Tie was only leading it temporarily, so today there were seven people for the eight bureaus.
The door slid quietly open, but the seven most powerful people in the state machinery of the Kingdom of Qing naturally
sensed it, and unthinking turned their heads around to look. Even Chen Pingping, sat at the head of the table, lifted his
head to look, his eyes calm.
An old man with slightly brown eyes, messy hair, and a stooped posture entered the room.
Everyone was somewhat astounded. Seeing Fei Jie, someone spoke quietly. “Let’s get this over with. Come in. Don’t
dawdle.”
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A young man appeared behind him, somewhat embarrassed. The young man was fair of face and friendly-looking, with a
shy smile. He cupped his hands in respect and bowed to the leaders gathered around the table, speaking somewhat
quietly and uneasily. “Hello, everyone. I am Fan Xian.”
Chapter 177: The Real Overwatch Council
In the meeting room of the Overwatch Council, an awkward silence fell. No one had expected that this was how
Commissioner Fan Xian would first show his face in the Council. In defiance of the customarily somber atmosphere of the
Council, a moment later, some of them couldn’t stop themselves from laughing.
Fan Xian smiled, cupped his hands in salute, and walked in. Of the seven formidable people in the room, he only
recognized Yan Ruohai. The others were all unfamiliar. Thankfully, Fei Jie had been beside him all day. Otherwise, he
would still have felt afraid and alone facing these spymasters who were feared throughout the Kingdom of Qing, if not
the whole land.
At the head of the table, an old man sat in a wheelchair. His eyes were clear and cold, but he gazed at him warmly. For
some reason, Fan Xian found himself sighing deeply. He slowly stepped forward. He had already recognized the old man.
16 years ago, when he had come to this world, he had seen him. In those 16 years, the old cripple’s face seemed not to
have changed at all.
Chen Pingping watched the young man come closer and closer to him, and a strange look of satisfaction floated across
his face. Fan Xian was now next to him. Chen Pingping opened his arms. “My child, come here,” he said gently.
Fan Xian slowly bent down, and softly leant his head on the old man’s shoulder, slipping his body into his narrow, soft
embrace.
Chen Pingping was very thin. Their bodies touched only gently, but Fan Xian could feel a warmth.
The young man and the old man embraced each other as if the spymasters of the Kingdom of Qing were not even there.
It was a moment of impudence. Some time later, the two parted, and Fan Xian bowed respectfully. “It is an honor to
meet you at last.”
Chen Pingping suddenly gave a pointed laugh. It sounded like a happy one.
Save for Fei Jie, the other seven spymasters, who didn’t know the facts of the situation, kept a respectful silence. But
deep down, they were shocked. None of them knew that the commissioner and the always-distant Director had this sort
of relationship.
Today was the first day that Fan Xian had entered the Overwatch Council officially in his status as commissioner, so the
members of the eight bureaus had been waiting for him. After a round of quick introductions, Fan Xian sat quietly on a
chair to Chen Pingping’s left, and Fei Jie sat to his right.
“This is Fan Xian,” said Chen Pingping calmly, looking at his subordinates. “From now on he is a commissioner of the
Overwatch Council. Colleagues, I ask that you lend him your support.”
In introducing the newest member of staff, Chen Pingping had never been so serious, and had never spoken so much, as
he had today. The seven bureau chiefs all knew the weight of his words. They stood up, bowed toward Fan Xian, and said
nothing more.

Ever since Fei Jie had begun tutoring him at the age of five, Fan Xian knew that he would have something to do with the
secretive organization feared throughout the land and avoided by the common people. Especially after he learned of his
mother’s connection with the Council, he was even more aware of the fact that his relationship with the Council was to
be a particularly special one.
When he was young, Fei Jie taught him about the structure and activities of the Council. After he had entered the capital,
many things had happened in coordination with the Overwatch Council. Independent of the Council, he had organized
Wang Qinian’s team. Today, he listened to their official explanations, and gained a deeper understanding of the
Overwatch Council.
The Overwatch Council was a spy agency directly subordinate to His Majesty the Emperor. Its authority existed outside
the Six Ministries, and was not limited by the laws of the Kingdom of Qing, operating instead exclusively on the orders of
the Emperor. It was split into eight bureaus. The First Bureau specialized in monitoring the bureaucracy in the capital,
and had spies planted in each critical department. It was the most crucial bureau of the Council. The previous head was
Zhu Ge, who had been secretly collaborating with the Eldest Princess, and had died some months ago. The Second
Bureau was responsible for gathering and analyzing intelligence and strategy, and devising plans for the Emperor and the
military.
The Third Bureau was the one that Fan Xian felt closest to, because before his retirement, his teacher Fei Jie had been
head of the Third Bureau. The Third Bureau specialized in manufacturing drugs, poisons, and all kinds of secret weapons.
The knockout drops, poisons, and aphrodisiacs that Fan Xian kept on his person had been a result of the work of the
Third Bureau.
The Fourth Bureau was Yan Ruohai’s office. It specialized in monitoring the bureaucracy outside the capital, and the
related work of intelligence gathering, investigation, and arrests. Its authority extended outside the national borders,
and included Northern Qi and the City of Dongyi. In terms of the scope of its authority, it was the most powerful bureau
next to the First Bureau.
The Fifth Bureau of the Overwatch Council had always been stationed outside the capital. It had been established on the
orders of the Emperor, and comprised of the Black Knights, responsible for ensuring Chen Pingping’s safety. When
necessary, it could also travel long distances to mount a surprise cavalry attack. The daring raid behind enemy lines in
Northern Wei to capture the spymaster Xiao En had been the Fifth Bureau’s finest achievement. It could be said that
from a martial point of view, the Fifth Bureau was the strongest section of the Overwatch Council.
The Sixth Bureau was the least well known, yet most fearsome of all the departments. Even Fan Xian, in all his time since
entering the capital, had not made contact with the Sixth Bureau, because it was specialized in carrying out the work of
secret assassinations. Of course, from another perspective, the Sixth Bureau was responsible for protecting those
appointed by the Emperor.
The Seventh Bureau was responsible for interrogation of enemy prisoners. It was more specialized than the 13 offices of
the Ministry of Justice. The unremarkable jailer at the Overwatch Council prison that Fan Xian had once laid eyes on had
been the former head of the Seventh Bureau.
At the mention of the Eighth Bureau, Fan Xian saw that the middle-aged official wanted to laugh. Was it not the bureau
that he had been in contact with the most? The Danbo Bookstore had made significant contributions to the Eighth
Bureau. Though there were some usable connections, Seventh Ye the shopkeeper had still made sure to make his
monthly contributions to the Eighth Bureau. Fan Xian felt that this office was similar to the Magistrates’ Yamen of his
previous world, though its power was greater and it was more independent.
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After the cursory introductions had ended, the seven bureau heads needed no introduction from Fan Xian, as they were
all very familiar with his resumé and his brilliance; indeed, the entire Kingdom of Qing knew. Besides, these seven
spymasters were wily as foxes, fierce as wolves, and ferocious as tigers.
Of these seven spymasters, Fan Xian only recognized Yan Ruohai, though he was more interested in the heads of the
Third and Sixth Bureaux, because during their introductions, the head of the Sixth Bureau had said he was acting on
behalf of another. Fan Xian was curious. If not here, then where was the most feared assassin in all of the Kingdom of
Qing?
As for his curiosity about the head of the Third Bureau, it was because of a boring aside from Fei Jie. This bureau head,
surnamed Leng, had been a student of Fei Jie. Fan Xian presumed that, as a senior student of the same master, he should
call him Brother Leng.
After the meeting had finished, Chief Leng of the Third Bureau and Yan Ruohai of the Fourth Bureau stayed behind. Fan
Xian and Brother Leng chatted for a while, talking of poisons and concealed weapons with inevitable delight. Yan Ruohai
watched them from the side, feeling his hair stand on end somewhat before he recalled that the Commissioner had been
the last student of Fei Jie, and was a strange fellow who had grown up familiar with poisons. He didn’t want to get too
close to him.
Seeing the two of them talking happily, Fei Jie frowned. “I have long known what kind of person Xiao En is. I presume
that after the diplomatic mission enters Northern Qi, he will demand that they wait at Wudu River for a month, where
under the protection of Northern Qing, he will confirm that there is no poison remaining in his system. Only then will he
send the hostage toward the capital. I cannot concoct a poison that will only take effect after a month’s time. You two
have been muttering amongst yourselves for a long time. What use is that?”
With a deep and mournful sigh, Fan Xian and Brother Leng, whom he had only just met bowed to each other and parted,
knowing that Fei Jie was right.
Chen Pingping gently clapped his hands, getting the attention of the handful of people left in the room. “This journey to
Northern Qi has four objectives,” he said calmly.
Fan Xian sat down, listening earnestly.
“First, we must ensure that Yan Bingyun returns safely home to take up his post at the First Bureau. Second, after
ensuring the success of the agreement between the two countries, immediately assassinate Xiao En.” Chen Pingping
spoke as if he were describing something completely normal. “Third, carry out Operation Red Sleeve. Documents
containing details of this plan will be provided to you soon. Fourth, on the basis of the completion of the first three
objectives, integrate into the spy network of Northern Qi, and ensure that there is no lag in intelligence gathering as a
result of the departure of Yan Bingyun.”
Four objectives, each more difficult than the last. Fan Xian’s face was relatively calm, but he was secretly both excited
and uneasy. Chen Pingping turned to Yan Ruohai, his face expressionless. “Prepare the necessary resources, and before
Fan Xian leaves, give him a briefing.”
Yan Ruohai nodded, turned, and left the room.
The only people left in the room were Fan Xian, Chen Pingping, and Fei Jie. After a moment of silence, Chen Pingping
softly smoothed out the creases on the blanket covering his knees. A hint of a smile floated across his face as he looked
at Fan Xian. “I believe, after having seen that name outside the Council, there are a great many things you should know.”

” Wu Zhu told me a few things.” Fan Xian smiled as he looked at the old cripple before him. His heart was filled with a
number of complicated feelings. So much in his life had been arranged by him, but for some reason, Fan Xian did not feel
a contradiction in his mood as any ordinary person would. Instead, he felt a strange kind of trust. It seemed as if the
most terrifying official in the whole nation, who stood before him, deserved his trust.
This was his intuition, and Fan Xian had always trusted and honored his own intuition.
“Old Wu?” Chen Pingping closed his eyes and frowned. It seemed that he had sunk into some kind of memory. He
suddenly spoke. “Are his memories any better?”
“Perhaps he remembers everything he should,” Fan Xian said quietly, “and he has forgotten everything he does not want
to remember.”
Fei Jie cleared his throat and looked at his student. There was no need at all, in his opinion, to speak so mysteriously with
the Director. He didn’t like it one bit.
Chapter 178: A Shadow in the Mortal World
Chen Pingping let out a sharp laugh. He rubbed his rough fingers together and asked, “Is Sir Wu in the capital now?” This
was the question Fei Jie had asked on the day of Fan Xian’s wedding. Fan Xian shook his head and answered as he had
last time: “I hear he went south to look for Ye Liuyun. I don’t know when he will return.”
Somehow, Fan Xian felt like he could hear a person sighing somewhere in this room. He frowned and put his finger on
the trigger of his crossbow—what the three of them were discussing now was too terrifying to be leaked. If someone
were to eavesdrop, the result would be difficult to bear for both Fan Xian and Chen Pingping.
“You may come out.” Noticing the movement in Fan Xian’s sleeve. Chen Pingping explained, “I believe you must be
intrigued as to who leads the Sixth Bureau.”
As soon as he said that, a person—more precisely, a dark shadow—floated out of the darkness. Only when it got behind
Chen Pingping could its figure be clearly seen. It was a figure dressed completely in black… The figure of someone
extremely powerful.
Noticing the person’s aura, Fan Xian’s pupils contracted slightly as his entire body tensed up. Then he relaxed a bit as he
remembered having seen this person before. Sixteen years ago, this same shadow stood atop of Chen Pingping’s carriage
and killed a mysterious sorcerer in mere seconds like a swooping eagle.
“He is the head of the Sixth Bureau. He doesn’t see outsiders.” Fei Jie explained with a smile. “Of course, you are not an
outsider.”
This leader of Qing’s assassins did not speak; he stood silently behind Chen Pingping, as if not interested in Fan Xian at
all. Chen Pingping’s voice was a bit hoarse as he picked up where Fei Jie had left off: “Other than Sir Wu, he is the most
terrifying assassin in the world. Naturally, he is also the best protector in the world. He is the reason I am still alive
today.”
The shadow bowed slightly, showing gratitude in response to the praise.
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Looking at Fan Xian’s eyes, Chen Pingping smiled, “This shadow here is an admirer and follower of Sir Wu. Many of his
techniques he picked up at a young age from seeing and imitating Sir Wu. Hence why he was a bit disappointed after
hearing you say that Sir Wu was not in the capital.”
Fan Xian now looked at this shadow assassin differently. To be this strong by simply imitating Wu Zhu—what astounding
talent!
And it also meant that blind Wu Zhu was even more horrifyingly strong.
Pushing Director Chen on his wheelchair, they made their way to the Overwatch Council’s courtyard. The shadow
disappeared in broad daylight. Following behind, Fan Xian felt strange. The strongest assassin of Qing really did act like
Wu Zhu—whom he hadn’t seen for many days. While Fan Xian wasn’t worried, he still wanted to see the person dearest
to him.
This was Fan Xian’s first time entering the council’s courtyard. It was a vast yard; there were no tall buildings within tens
of meters around the walls. No one could see what was happening in the courtyard from the outside. Contrary to the
outsiders’ imaginations, the courtyard of the Overwatch Council was a beautiful place. There were lush green lawns,
many tall trees providing shade, and wild flowers growing by paths paved with stone.
The other officials of the council traveled between the different buildings in silence. As they saw the black wheelchair,
they all saluted in respect.
Fan Xian would frown occasionally after walking for a bit. Below those beautiful, artificial rocks, within the fresh green
woods, there seemed to be hidden guards everywhere. The security of this place was even tighter than that of the
palace.
“Familiarize yourself with this place; this courtyard will be yours soon.” Cheng Pingping suddenly said that very casually,
as if throwing a steamed bun at Fan Xian for him to eat.
Fan Xian’s heart skipped a beat. While he knew about the arrangement, he was still unsettled by how nonchalantly the
old cripple had said it.
Cheng Pingping turned and gave Fan Xian a look. Shaking his head, the old man sighed. Fan Xian didn’t know why. The
youth smiled and said, “I have a few questions.”
“Let’s hear them.” Cheng Pingping, in his wheelchair, was beside a pond. The pond water was clear and the golden hue
of swimming fish could be seen. Cheng Pingping gazed at the water.
“I’ve alienated many people because of this year’s examination, but how come Imperial Censor Guo and Minister of
Justice Han dared to make a move? Do they not fear the wraith of my father and the Prime Minister?” Fan Xian looked at
Cheng Pingping’s messy hair. “Moving on to the Eastern Palace, if it wasn’t the prince’s orders, then why is the empress
plotting against me?”
Cheng Pingping didn’t turn. He instead waved his hand. Fei Jie patted his student on the shoulder, praising his courage.
Fei Jie then distanced himself from the pond.
Taking over Fei Jie’s position, Fan Xian began to push the wheelchair alongside the pond. After a moment of silence,
Cheng Pingping said, “Are you forcing me to spill everything?”

“You should at least tell me how much they know about us.”
Cheng Pingping laughed sharply. “What a cautious youth you are. Looks like you’ve guessed some things, and you are
afraid the empress is trying to deal with you over those things.”
Fan Xian smiled. “Indeed. If the empress finds out about the things I guessed, it’s only natural for her to act against me.
That’s the only reason I can think of. If it’s true, then, with my current power, I cannot stand up against the Eastern
Palace.”
“Your enemies are all paper tigers,” Chen Pingping suddenly said.
Fan Xian wasn’t expecting to hear that term from the director, who then said, “That’s what your mother used to say. She
also said we must strategically take the enemy lightly and tactically take them seriously.”
Fan Xian wanted to laugh. His mother didn’t come up with that quote, but there was no way for the old cripple to know
that.
Cheng Pingping smiled. “Your biggest problem right now is that you are overestimating your enemies strategically.
You’re even afraid of them. So you tend to find yourself getting tied up when you do things. Just the other day; even if
you fought your way out of the Hall of Justice, do you think anyone would dare to hurt you? And when it comes to
tactics, you consider too little. If it weren’t for the Council cleaning up your mess, some of the things you’ve done after
coming to the capital were enough to have you executed hundreds of times.”
Fan Xian was speechless. Chen Pingping gently crossed his hands and said in a light voice, “Don’t view the Eastern Palace
as being too powerful. In all of Qing, there is no true power. That includes the Prime Minister and your father Fan Jian.”
Fan Xian felt a bit enlightened. “Violence is true power, which is why only the military and the Overwatch Council are
truly powerful.”
Chen Pingping raised a hand and wagged his long, old finger. “Incorrect. In Qing, only one individual holds true power.”
Fan Xian lowered his head. “His Majesty.”
“Correct. His Majesty can ignore everything as long as he holds sovereignty over the military. His subjects may be causing
all sorts of unrest, but he couldn’t be bothered to even bat an eye.”
Fan Xian chuckled. “A very leisurely emperor indeed.”
Chen Pingping rubbed his dry hands and slowly said, “The Overwatch Council belongs to His Majesty. I’m only taking
charge on his behalf. The same will be true of you in the future. You must remember that.”
Fan Xian calmly stared at Chen Pingping, the leader of the Overwatch Council, Qing’s special organization. He wondered
whether to question the old man’s legendary loyalty to the emperor.
The black wheelchair had been circling around the pond for a while. Perhaps the fish were tired of watching, as they sank
and began to stir the sand on the bottom with their mouths.
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The other officials of the Council were watching the Director and the newly-revealed Commissioner from a distance;
none dared to go and interrupt their conversation. Suddenly, Cheng Pingping sighed. “Time flows fast. In the blink of an
eye, your mother’s son has grown so much.”
Fan Xian did a double take. “Why ‘your mother’s son’? What kind of saying was that? Why not refer to me directly?”
With a bitter smile, Fan Xian said, “I only regret that I don’t know what my mother looked like.”
Cheng Pingping smiled. “There is only one portrait of your mother , drawn in secret by a former national master. That
master artist was almost killed by Sir Wu.”
Fan Xian asked, “Could that portrait be in the palace?”
Cheng Pingping didn’t answer him directly. He only said faintly, “As mentioned before, you don’t need to worry too
much about the Eastern Palace. The empress’s power was reduced quite a bit by His Majesty over twelve years ago.”
Fan Xian knew the story of the capital’s bloody history. He frowned. “Why didn’t His Majesty overthrow her?”
“She is still the mother of the Crown Prince, and she was liked by the empress dowager. Most importantly…” Cheng
Pingping gave a fake smile. “Where would our emperor find another empress as powerless and unwise as she?”
Fan Xian felt a chill as he realized that this emperor really was no pushover—just as he had surmised. Fortunately, Cheng
Pingping didn’t know that was how Fan Xian described His Majesty. The director said gently, “Don’t worry about your
identity being revealed. The death of that infant sixteen years ago is an unchangeable fact in the eyes of the palace. The
unwise empress ordered Minister Han to act against you because she was taking the Crown Prince’s side. At the time she
didn’t know that you were the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council. She was merely angry at you for meeting the
Second Prince on his boat.”
Cheng Pingping then became slightly angry. “I believe Count Sinan told you not to get too close to those princes. Did you
think the nobles in the capital wouldn’t find out about you meeting the Second Prince on that boat?”
Fan Xian laughed nervously. He didn’t think the empress was warning him because she feared the Second Prince. At the
time, he really did believe she knew his true identity.
Chapter 179: Small Flower
Pinching off a small pink flower, Chen Pingping carefully put it in his hair. Seeing it would fall at any moment, Fan Xian
fixed the old man’s hair, ensuring that the flower would stay put.
Chen Pingping laughed joyfully and gently tapped Fan Xian’s hand. “After seventeen years of turmoil, you’ve finally come
to the capital and finally grown up into a man. Your mother’s wishes have been answered.”
Fan Xian had always been curious about “those” years. He couldn’t help but ask, “How many of you were there back
then?” By that he meant: how many powerful people had followed his mother, wanting to change the world?
“Do some counting.”
Fan Xian did. He smiled. “Six.”
“Yes, your mother was most impressive.” Chen Pingping smiled. “Looks like you’re a smart one too.”

“Regarding the former, Fei Jie told me when I was little.”
“Well, I suppose he didn’t tell you how much we miss your mother. From a certain point of view, she was our guide.”
“Somewhat surprising.” Fan Xian smiled. “But not unimaginable.”
“Be more respectful towards Count Sinan and the Fan clan.” Chen Pingping suddenly became solemn. “They sacrificed a
lot for your sake.”
Fan Xian closed his eyes slightly. All those years ago, under such a dangerous situation, father must have sacrificed a lot
to save his life as an infant and make those in the palace believe he had died. “Who are my real enemies that I must
watch out for? Thatt crazy Eldest Princess can’t be among them; she was too young back then.”
“Eldest Princess is a pitiful woman. To the royal family, she spent her entire life in your mother’s shadow. While she was
smart, talented, and obtained many benefits for Qing, she was never able to match your mother in His Majesty’s heart.
All that jealousy made her insane. As for your enemies… there are none, none.” Chen Pingping repeated the last part
quietly as if trying to convince himself.
“If I take charge of the Overwatch Council, and then the palace treasury, I think some people will notice that things
aren’t right,” Fan Xian said with a smile. “What exactly do you want me to do?”
Chen Pingping asked lightly, “Don’t you wish to be a powerful minister?”
Fan Xian looked into the old man’s eyes calmly. He suddenly said, “I do. And I know what you are planning.”
Chen Pingping’s expression remained unchanged. “I hope you keep feigning that you don’t know.”
Fan Xian frowned. “Even though I don’t have any blood relation with them, I still don’t want to see too much
bloodshed.”
“It’s still too early for that,” Chen Pingping said quietly. “Besides, bloodshed tends to always be caused by stupid people
trying to slit others’ throats and who ending up slitting their own instead.”
Fan Xian smiled somewhat bitterly. While he respected and trusted this old man, he still needed to walk his own path.
This Director of the Overwatch Council had cooperated flawlessly with Fan Xian without meeting him, and done many
other things for him. But should things come up in the future and spark disagreement between the two, Fan Xian would
choose to act in favor of his own interests.
Chen Pingping waved his hand and frowned, “You should learn to broaden your views. Don’t always pinpoint each
individual official. Learn to see things from a wider perspective…”
Fan Xian responded with a chuckle, “The sky’s the limit?”
Chen Pingping smiled. “Perhaps even higher than that.”
Fan Xian was puzzled and fell silent.
“Go now. Be careful while in Northern Qi.” Chen Pingping coughed and took the small flower out of his hair and gently
kneaded it between his fingers. “Xiao En must die. Of course, you must ensure your own safety first. Other than that,
6
take care of those three duties as you see fit. If the situation will allow it, you can even try to investigate the location of
the temple. After all, so far only Northern Qi’s Imperial Advisor Ku He had contact with it.”
Fan Xian frowned. “The temple… That was sudden. I’m not so sure about this, although I tend to enjoy such adventures.”
“So did your mother.” Chen Pingping nodded. “But to tell you the truth, I’m rarely worried for your life. If you don’t come
back alive after all Sir Wu has taught you, I will most definitely show my disappointment during your funeral.”
The old man smiled. He ripped the small flower to pieces and spread them across the ground. He thought, “The real
enemy isn’t one that can be dealt with by you.”
After saying goodbye to his mother’s dearest old comrade, Fan Xian returned to the building and met up with Yan
Ruohai. He took some scrolls to study back at the manor. Northern Qi was currently in an unusually messy situation.
Even if Chen Pingping wanted to use this opportunity to have Fan Xian officially take over the council, no one could force
Fan Xian to go to that strange country if he didn’t want to.
But Fan Xian wanted to.
In his previous life, he was imprisoned in his sickly body, and now he was imprisoned by his unusual social status. This
envoy to Northern Qi was a rare chance for him to roam freely, a chance he would never want to let pass. So he
diligently asked Yan Ruohai about all the aspects he should pay attention to, as well as the people he must take note of.
Yan Ruohai shook his head as he looked at this young Commissioner, seemingly not able to understand the reason
behind his enthusiasm. “Northern Qi has always been unstable; both the emperor and empress dowager are too young
to truly rule. But the capital appears to have been stabilized since that war last year. Sir Commissioner, you must pay
attention to three people. One is Friar He, one is Shang Shanhu, and the last one, of course, is the rarely-seen Ku He the
Imperial Advisor.”
“Friar He?” Fan Xian frowned. Taoism did not exist in this world. Why was he called “Friar”, a title which was usually
reserved for Taoist priests?
Yan Ruohai didn’t know why Fan Xian was puzzled, and so didn’t explain. He continued, “Friar He is a master in the Rear
Faction. Cheng Jiushu, whom you slayed, was his disciple. Shang Shanhu is a rare “tiger general” of Northern Qi who had
been fighting barbarians in the northern tundra. Supposedly, after Northern Qi’s defeat last year, he was moved back to
their capital by the young emperor. Sir Commissioner, you must pay extra attention to him; the council had been
suspicious about his school of teaching for a while. And Ku He, as one of the Four Great Grandmasters, shouldn’t
interfere with such worldly matters. However…”
Yan Ruohai frowned. “Ku He took in a secretive disciple who officially starts training this year. Sir Commissioner, with
your name being so well-known, it’s best to watch out for that disciple.”
Fan Xian blanked out for a moment as he inexplicably remembered those Valkyrie warriors from the novels in his
previous life. “Don’t tell me that disciple is a woman.”
Yan Ruohai said expressionlessly, “That is unknown. All we know is that, for the past three months, this Great
Grandmaster’s disciple traveled across Northern Qi and dueled countless high-ranking masters. There is even the rumor
this disciple is a legendary Tianmai being.” He looked at Fan Xian and asked quietly, “You know what that is, correct?”

That word sounded somewhat familiar. Suddenly, Fan Xian remembered: when he was little, Fei Jie had mentioned it
once, and Eldest Princess said it too while she spoke with Master Zhuang Mohan.
Hearing Yan Ruohai’s explanation, Fan Xian frowned. “A gifted person with the blood of Heaven and Earth in their veins,
appearing only once every five hundred years. They’re not like growing leeks in a field, where one shoot grows to replace
the one that was just cut off. I don’t believe that at all.”
Yan Ruohai nodded. “According to our analysis, it is likely that due to Northern Qi’s repeated defeats, they must have felt
the need to create the image of a young individual whose might is world-breaking in order to boost their people’s
confidence.”
Fan Xian smiled. “Quite likely. Like how the council shaped my image as a Commissioner… What’s the disciple’s name?”
“Hai Tang.”
Fan Xian felt a headache coming on. “I hope whoever it is is a pushover, but I definitely hope it’s not a woman.”
The two then chatted for a bit. In the end, Yan Ruohai looked at Fan Xian calmly, “Regarding things on my end, I hope
you can be of assistance, Sir Commissioner.”
“I already said so in front of the Ministry of Justice,” Fan Xian answered very seriously. “I will bring you safely back to
Qing.”
Walking out of the Fourth Bureau, Wang Qinian, who had been waiting outside, hurried over to carry the documents Fan
Xian had brought. While Fan Xian’s eyes were looking straight ahead, he said quietly to his “aide”, “I will definitely take
you with me to Northern Qi.”
“I am grateful for your faith in me,” Wang Qinian answered with a smile. This gilded trip to Northern Qi, had there not
been other arrangements, could have been truly a relaxing one. No nation in this world would dare to harm an envoy.
Fan Xian shook his head and laughed. “I’m bringing you because you’re the fastest in the Overwatch Council, not
including Zong Zhui, of course.”
Wang Qinian smiled uneasily and didn’t say anything. He had just paid Zong Zhui a visit and spent a long time talking
about the past. He and Zong Zhui were once called the wings of the Overwatch Council. But due to Wang Qinian
eventually moving on to a civil position, Zong Zhui felt greatly frustrated that Wang Qinian had become rather trivial.
Now that Wang Qinian became Commissioner Fan Xian’s aide, Zong Zhui felt his old friend had returned to his former
glory, and was overjoyed.
The head of the Third Bureau, Senior Disciple Leng, was already waiting by the secret room. He didn’t offer a greeting
after seeing Fan Xian, giving off a cold impression. With the opening of the door came a gust of wind, which wasn’t too
fast. Fan Xian raised his eyebrows as he knew immediately that places with airflow like this one must have nothing to do
with making poison.
Leng took a look at this junior disciple and suddenly grinned. “You’re well built.”
Fan Xian looked at his senior, whom he had just met and shuddered, thinking “It can’t be…?” only to hear Leng senior
immediately shout to the inner room, “Standard!”
7
Fan Xian froze. A while later, a few people came out from the inner room carrying a large table. On the table were some
boxes and clothing made from some strange fabric. Those people who carried the table—there were five or six of them
—were all expressionless as they stared at Fan Xian. Perhaps they had stayed in this strange bureau for too long and
became numb. But after being debriefed, they couldn’t help but show admiration as they kept on saying to
Commissioner Fan, “He really is well built.”
Chapter 180: Chilling Equipment
What those weird officials from the Third Bureau meant was that Fan Xian’s body conformed to standard proportions;
the equipment they had provided would fit him perfectly without the need for adjustments.
Fan Xian put on his outfit and frowned as he recalled that night when he was five years old. Fei Jie was wearing the same
kind of clothes which were very resistant to tearing.
Senior Disciple Leng explained, “It is mildly resistant to fire, and it effectively reduces damage from bladed weapons. But
if someone is coming at you with a great axe, young disciple, I advise that you dodge.”
Fan Xian smiled bitterly and spread out his arms. The outfit was in accordance with the newest style in the capital, only it
had a hood on the back.
“I shall be taking your hidden crossbow.” Leng recognized the crossbow on Fan Xian’s left arm with a glance.
Fan Xian sighed as he reluctantly obliged. That crossbow had accompanied him for about five years now, rarely leaving
his person.
Boss Leng judged the circumference of Fan Xian’s arm and opened a box on the table. He took out a small and delicate
crossbow that was painted all black. He carefully put it in Fan Xian’s sleeve and made some adjustments. Leng then took
another glance at the crossbow Fan Xian just took off. “What a piece of junk. To think you’re still using a model from
seven years ago.”
Fan Xian smiled sheepishly. “It works. I’m not greedy.”
Leng carefully explained the mechanism of the crossbow to Fan Xian: “…This is a repeating crossbow. But due to size
restraints, it only has a capacity of three bolts. Those bolts have been dipped in poison number four. You should know
what it is.”
Fan Xian knew indeed. Poison number four of the Third Bureau was poison obtained from the golden gourd. It was
potent enough to kill as soon as the bolt drew blood. Fan Xian tested the trigger with his pinkie and frowned, “I need a
range of ten meters.”
“It can only guarantee three meters. At ten meters, it won’t reliably hit the eyes, throat, or groin,” Boss Leng said calmly.
“As for your dagger, it’s Sir Fei’s favorite short weapon, and it is peerlessly sharp. You may hang on to that. Here are also
some unconventional weapons, as well as some tools. Because we didn’t know what kinds of missions you will
undertake, you must decide what to take.”
Fan Xian knew his choices would heavily affect his operations in Northern Qi, so he took his time to look at his options
before picking out a few items. One of the items he did not choose was a grappling hook that could be launched over
thirty meters into the air.

One of the officials was curious. He asked, “Sir Commissioner, while I do not know the details of your mission, I assume
you will have to venture into Northern Qi’s imperial palace. Their palace walls are no shorter than ours.”
It was a naïve thing to say; very much like something Wang Qinian would say, in fact. This made Fan Xian laugh. He
stared at the intricately-designed iron claw and shook his head without explaining anything—in this world, there was yet
to be a person who could scale walls better than Fan Xian.
“Regarding poison, Sir Fei told us that your talents lie far above the personnel of the Third Bureau, so we did not make
preparations.” Leng checked over Fan Xian’s equipment again and nodded in satisfaction.
Fan Xian said, “But I lack ingredients for making them.”
That got Senior Disciple Leng’s interest. “What do you need?”
“Maokouzi, arsenic, strychnine seeds, Southern Sea camphor.”
“Maokouzi is too bitter. It also won’t work well in your plan,” Leng said curiously. “But arsenic and strychnine seeds are
very common.”
Fan Xian smiled apologetically, “With my current position, it’s really difficult to have people purchase those items for me.
It would draw unwanted attention.”
“Then go with some chloroform. It’s a very effective sedative. Fei Jie created it two years ago.” Leng became excited. “It’s
better than strychnine seed.”
Fan Xian was even more excited. He couldn’t stop nodding. “But arsenic is a must. I’ve tried it in Danzhou. It’s good stuff
—acts faster than poison arrows.”
The topic of poison invoked a sort of professional excitement. The three other officials, also from the Third Bureau,
joined in and began a heated debate regarding which poison would bring the slowest, most painful death, and which
drug could turn the widow living under the memorial archway into the most ferocious animal on Liujing River.
All things considered, the Third Bureau of the Overwatch Council was a bizarre department, occupied by a bunch of
bizarre people.
After stepping out of the Third Bureau, Wang Qinian noticed Sir Commissioner Fan wasn’t as steady as usual. His face
was slightly flushed, as if having done some… things.
Fan Xian spoke excitedly: “Acting like a learned scholar every day is hard work. It’s much better to talk about useful skills
at a place like this.”
The bizarre senior member of the bizarre Third Bureau was currently having a cup of tea. He looked at Fan Xian in the
distance with a satisfied expression.
“How about you stay with the Third Bureau?” Fei Jie walked with his disciple. “Forget going to Northern Qi, forget being
a minister, forget taking over the palace treasury. A quiet life here isn’t bad at all.”
Fan Xian was silent. He knew his teacher was worried for him.
8
“Growing up, you were always quiet. Yet you know very well what you want.” Fei Jie’s eyes became somewhat misty.
“After coming to the capital, your heart has become even more vigilant. But with things like power, it’s easy to become
intoxicated by them. Are you clear on what you want?”
Fan Xian was silent for a while before answer respectfully, “I am.”
Fei Jie suddenly cackled. “If that’s the path you wish to take, then you must learn to kill, learn to be willing to kill, learn to
enjoy killing.”
Fan Xian held a bitter expression. “I’m not some little psychopath.”
Fei Jie blinked tiredly. He coughed twice and said, “This world is psychotic. How can you get by if you’re not psychotic in
return?”
Fan Xian, standing in front of Fei Jie, felt he was once again the little kid from the past. He smiled sweetly, “There are
many different degrees of getting by… By the way, Master Fei, why did the Director sigh when he saw me?”
“Hm, perhaps it was out of disappointment. You aren’t as… prideful as the Lady was.”
Fan Xian was troubled. “A real man does not compare himself to women.”
After that, he took his teacher’s hand and went to Yishi Tavern. Today they would drink to their heart’s content. Now
that the entire capital knew his relationship with the Overwatch Council, there was no longer any need to be discreet.
Wang Qinian, on the other hand, suffered. He huffed and puffed as he carried a huge collection of documents. He knew
they were all top secret, so he didn’t have the leisure to go to the tavern. He called a few subordinates to make some
preparations and grumpily headed to Fan Manor.
The Crown Prince sat in Eastern Palace with a gloomy expression. He tightly gripped the cup in his hand, his fingers
shaking. After a while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence. “How come all the women in the palace never learned
how to settle down?”
Vice-minister Xin dared not interject. He knew the Crown Prince was in an exceptionally bad mood today. The events
that happened these past few days angered everyone in the Eastern Palace, including the always gentle Taifu.
First it was the spring civil service examination scandal. That actually caused the Eastern Palace the least amount of
setback. Among the dozen officials who were arrested, only a few belonged to the Eastern Palace. Though in the eyes of
other officials, the fall of Director Guo appeared to be a huge loss for the Crown Prince, the prince gradually discovered
that the Guo clan were actually lackeys of the Eldest Princess.
The Crown Prince wasn’t angry over Fan Xian taking down Director Guo. On the contrary, he was secretly elated.
“No one guessed that Sir Fan was the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council.” Xin Qiwu frowned. He had drunk many
times with Fan Xian. Never did he imagine that Fan Xian, with his gentle face, would be a senior member of that special
organization.
Crown Prince Li Chengqian shook his head, his face still gloomy. “Fan Xian is a sensible person. He uncovered this case
mainly because of his duties. Him not contacting the palace wasn’t unreasonable. He gave us enough prestige, so I do
not blame him too much. Besides, Wan’er delivered a hand-written letter from Fan Xian. I believe he was not targeting
the Eastern Palace

Vice-minister Xin had befriended Fan Xian because he hoped Fan Xian in the Overwatch Council would be a tremendous
source of help for the Eastern Palace. The vice-minister nodded in agreement, “Indeed. While Commissioner Fan didn’t
say anything beforehand, afterwards he made plenty of amends… Unfortunately he is to leave for Northern Qi soon.
Otherwise I would have arranged that he meet with Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince snorted and put down his cup loudly. He was enraged. “Even so, dare he still have a change of heart?
News of what happened at the Hall of Justice is now all over the capital. Even though the Prime Minister and Director
Fan haven’t made a move, they still know about Han Zhiwei’s relationship with us. I fear the Fan clan will waste no time
to loathe the Eastern Palace. Don’t even mention them asking us for help.”
m Xin was silent, he knew the prince was wise in how he handled this matter. But there were two masters in the Eastern
Palace.
Suddenly, a eunuch’s voice rang out: “The Empress has arrived!”
Vice-minister Xin gave the prince a look and signaled him to keep calm. He then saluted the Empress, who had just
entered, before taking his leave.
The Empress stared silently at her son with her thin and graceful eyes.
The Crown Prince just sat there with a smile, unwilling to start the conversation.
The Empress bit at her bottom lip. A flash of disappointment and sadness flashed across her eyes. Suddenly, she raised a
hand and slapped it down!
Chapter 181: Blasphemy
The Crown Prince tilted his head and dodged the incoming slap. In response he grabbed his mother’s cold wrist and
stared calmly at her.
The empress wasn’t expecting the always meek prince to have such a sharp gaze. She impulsively shuddered and pulled
back her hand. She said slowly, “Do you believe your mother to be in the wrong?”
The Crown Prince frowned. “I wouldn’t dare.”
The empress suddenly raised her voice, “Do you not know Fan Xian is meeting the Second Prince on his boat?”
The prince suddenly raised his head and stared directly into the empress’s eyes. He said calmly, “Mother, will you allow
me to handle these matters? As a leading poet, it isn’t unusual for Fan Xian to meet with Second Prince.”
The empress was angry and frustrated, but she didn’t know how to respond.
The Crown Prince looked at her and continued: “I have often wondered; can you not be so sensitive? You will only chase
my potential allies away to join my brothers.”
The empress clenched her teeth. “As the mother of this nation, what’s wrong in punishing a mere subject? Does he dare
to hold a grudge?”
9
The prince said in faint ridicule, “Mother, you shouldn’t have let Minister Han do that the other day. There is no way you
would really have Fan Xian beaten to death. Why make enemies out of the Prime Minister and the entire Fan clan? I
believe Minister Han will lose his standing in a few days. The number of officials, the ones with real power, who would
willingly get involved with the Eastern Palace are already few in number, and you just had to stomp on your own foot. I
really don’t know what you were thinking.”
The empress frowned. “Han Zhiwei is a proper minister. And on that day, he was acting under Imperial order. What can
the Prime Minister and Fan Jian do? With the Eastern Palace’s protection, His Majesty should save face for him.”
“Don’t forget; Fan Xian is the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, and Lord Father always liked him very much,” the
prince spat out. He frowned and sighed. “This time, Han Zhiwei severely angered too many people. You should know
that it was Lord Father’s idea to rework the examination. It will be impossible for us to protect him.”
The empress jeered, “And you must not forget Fan Xian also alienated many officials in the capital; even the Imperial
Censorate. Although your aunt is now far away in Xinyang, her remaining influence will not go idle in the court.”
“Do not bring her up.” The Crown Prince seemed to dislike Eldest Princess. “She has been acting so strangely for the last
two years, being so bold as to conspire with Northern Qi. What happened to Qing’s dignity? As for that Guo-
whatshisname of the Imperial Censorate, he is a mere bookworm; the Eldest Princess’s toy. Even if he gets assassinated
by the Overwatch Council, she would not bat an eye.”
Despite the fact that the Eldest Princess had been close to the Eastern Palace in recent years, after Fan Xian’s
propaganda fell upon the capital like snow, even the Crown Prince started to become wary of her. Of course, there were
other reasons as well.
The empress painfully said, “We have no other help to rely on; only the Eldest Princess.”
“We shall rely on Lord Father,” the princess replied calmly. He, who had always appeared somewhat meek, finally
exhibited political judgement and senses befitting a prince.
The empress slowly closed her eyes, “In any case, I do not like Fan Xian. He must die, somehow.”
The Crown Prince slapped the table in anger. “Die? Did you forget he is Chen’er’s husband? Please do not listen to
everything the Eldest Princess says. That woman is insane; a psychopath! Do you know that? Do you want to be a
psychopath and get chased out of the palace too?”
This enraged the empress. She began to tremble uncontrollably. Pointing at the prince’s nose, she said in a shaking voice,
“What do you know? What do you know? What do you know? You… what do you know?” Perhaps what the prince said
really hit the empress where it hurt. She repeated the same question four times.
The eunuchs and palace girls had already left this heated exchange. Only the mother and son remained in the Eastern
Palace. After an extremely long period of silence, the empress stood up. Feeling weak, she swayed. The Crown Prince
immediately stood up and held her steady. Without much choice, he begged her pardon.
The empress was heartbroken as she watched her son. Wrinkles already appeared around her graceful eyes.
“Throughout history, the Crown Prince has always had the most difficult position. You have to watch out for those in
front of you and behind you. There is no one else on my side of the family. The unrest twelve years ago—I doubt you
have memories of it, but I do, clearly. Things that belong to you, if you don’t struggle for them, others will take them
from you.”

The Crown Prince softened his tone. “I understand. Mother, please go rest for now.”
The empress shook her head. “You don’t understand. You don’t… I’ve had this feeling recently that something
unfortunate will happen… Just like many years ago, when that woman entered the capital.”
“Which woman?” The Crown Prince was curious.
At that moment, the heavy doors of the Eastern Palace were pushed open.
“Who is it?!” the prince asked angrily.
An old eunuch, with his back hunched over, walked in. He said respectfully, “Hong Sixiang, at your service. I’ve come
under the order of empress dowager to invite the empress to Hanguang Hall.”
The empress had a fleeting expression of fear before she took on a bright smile. With the help of some palace girls, she
followed that hunched over eunuch to where the true matriarch of the palace resided.
The Crown Prince frowned. While he disliked the insolence of that old dog, he knew that eunuch was the closest servant
of his grandmother. Not even his mother would want to displease Eunuch Hong, so why would he do anything
unnecessary?
As the candlelight started to dim, Crown Prince Li Chengqian recalled that absurd scene in the Ministry of Justice. Inside,
he was even more troubled; he couldn’t figure out why his mother was so obedient to Eldest Princess. As soon as he
thought of his young and enchanting aunt, the prince felt a wave of heat rush to his heart. While he appeared to be
slightly fearful, in his eyes there were faint signs of lust.
He walked to the back hall. Moments later, suspicious groaning could faintly be heard. As he breathed heavily, he
wondered why all the beautiful women must play such tricks instead of obediently staying in bed.
It was spring. The flowers were blossoming and the birds were singing. Yang Wanli’s group of four—now newly-
appointed officials—visited Fan Manor, hoping to be graced by Sir Fan’s presence. However, Sir Fan was not in the
manor today. Even more frustrating was that Sir Fan was on official duty, and was to leave for Northern Qi tomorrow.
Second-degree scholars do not go to the Imperial Academy. Going by usual customs, they could be appointed anywhere.
With the Board of Civil Office sending an envoy soon, it was unsurprising that the other three—aside from Shi Chanli—
would come to ask Fan Xian for orders. After all, during this year’s spring examination, they had gotten to this point
entirely thanks to Fan Xian’s power. So naturally, they believed Fan Xian would have them do something.
Fan Xian could not meet with them. He left them two letters. One was for the three newly-appointed officials who had to
leave the capital soon. The other was for Shi Chanli who would return home to prepare for the next spring examination.
The four sat in Fan Xian’s study. Disregarding any formalities, they opened up the letters.
The letter for the three officials had only two sentences:
“Do your best as a person. Do your best as an official.”
There was one more sentence for Hou Jichang. Fan Xian wrote, “Jichang, don’t be so spineless.”
10
That was an inside joke only Fan Xian understood, so the three new officials focused on the former two sentences. While
simple, they were very true. To be an official, they must first learn to conduct themselves as people.
Those two sentences had another meaning. It was unclear which one of them realized it—”do your best as a person” did
not necessarily mean to be a good person, and “do your best as an official” did not necessarily mean to be a good
official.
After reading that letter, Yang Wanli was curious to see Shi Chanli’s. So far, only Shi Chanli was rather silent.
A bit unsettled, Shi Chanli opened up his letter. Upon seeing what Fan Xian had written for him, he almost laughed aloud.
“I know things aren’t going well. Life is decided more by fate than by men. Do not worry that there will be no friends to
share an umbrella with. Enjoy your time leisurely. ”
The last three characters of the letter hinted that Shi Chanli should wait for Fan Xian’s return, as Fan Xian’s name was a
homophone for leisure.
Currently, Fan Xian was at the estate he had bought. Frowning slightly, he ran his fingers across the hollow belt and felt
the pills Fei Jie had given him long ago. His teacher said that should there be something wrong with his overpowering
zhenqi, those few pills were there to save him. After coming to the capital, there hadn’t been any mishaps, and Fan Xian
almost forgot about the pills until now. So many years had passed, he didn’t know if the pills were still effective.
Wang Qinian sat across from him and said respectfully, “We’ve found the person.” Raising his head, he continued, “The
likeness is there. With some careful makeup, there shouldn’t be any observable flaws from a distance. But the flaws are
still there.”
“What flaws?” Fan Xian asked. “Didn’t you say the likeness is there? It’s been a month. The skin tone more or less
matches.”
Wang Qinian answered lightly, “Sir, to find someone as striking and attractive as you among those men is already difficult
enough. Even if the appearance were to match, he still has to be able to act out your learned, scholarly demeanor. That
would be exceedingly difficult.”
Fan Xian was surprised. He jeered, “You’re a real joker. Your skill at brown-nosing is getting deadly.”
Chapter 182: Night
That night Fan Xian went home, and having learned that Yang Wanli and his group had come by, Fan Xian was not greatly
concerned. What he had wanted to say to them was what he had said in the tavern: he asked them to be good officials,
to love and protect the common people, and to work to rise through the ranks. Though Fan Xian was not some great
hero of the people, if his own disciples could become such people, then he would be satisfied. As for any clandestine
tasks he could give them to carry out, that was a matter for another time.
As he was about to depart, he naturally wanted to meet with his younger sister Ruoruo for a tearful goodbye, and to
warn Sizhe about the issues of his money-making ventures. He paid his respects to his father and to Lady Liu, and then
returned to his bedroom, preparing himself for bed, and comforting his own forlorn young wife… only to find that his
brother-in-law, the simpleminded Dabao, was in his bedroom.

Fan Xian smiled as he chatted with Dabao, and nearby, Lin Wan’er watched them, feeling somewhat odd. Her husband
and her brother had a strange relationship. She didn’t think they’d have that much to talk about, and she didn’t know
why Fan Xian had such a patient temper.
Some time later, Fan Xian and Dabao put their left hands on each other’s shoulders with a laugh and said something that
sounded like a catchphrase. Finally, Fan Xian had a servant lead Dabao out.
“What were you saying to Dabao?” Lin Wan’er clutched a thin quilt miserably as she watched him, pouting as if she were
jealous of her brother. Her bare feet poked out from the hem of the quilt, snow-white under the golden coverlet. They
were very beautiful.
Fan Xian smiled and sat on the side of the bed, extending a hand to rub his wife’s feet, his fingertips pressing down on
her soft soles. “He was promising little Xianxian that he would be a good boy when I’m not here to play with him in the
capital.’
Lin Wan’er felt an ache in her sole, and heard the play on words in his terms of endearment, and her snow-white face
suddenly turned red. Even her ears went somewhat rosy. It seemed she was very pleased. She hurriedly withdrew her
feet. “It’s still early, isn’t it?” she said timidly.
Fan Xian laughed. “It’s not too soon. Tomorrow I shall be leaving, and it must be as early as possible.”
“I see. Will your father see you off in the morning?” Lin Wan’er touched her husband – a refined scholar in public, and a
shameless pervert behind closed doors. She didn’t know what to do, and had no choice but to distract him. But she had
tried to distract him too many times.
Fan Xian had long been immune to it. “Your father scolded me, firstly about the exam hall scandal, and then about the
diplomatic mission to Northern Qi. I don’t want to listen to his and my father’s arrangements.” In truth, he could clearly
see that his father-in-law was concerned during his visit to the Prime Minister’s manor, but he didn’t know what the
Prime Minister was worried about.
As he responded, he slid his feet under the quilt to stroke his wife’s. In a moment, he penetrated the covers, spread out
his toes, and took hold of her soft flesh, leading her to cry out in surprise.
In their pillow talk as husband and wife, they would remember back to their meeting at the Temple of Qing. In the midst
of such sweetness, Fan Xian’s heart pounded. He thought of the grandmaster Ku He of Northern Qi, and he thought of
the Temple of the Void; for some reason, he became serious.
Sensing that he was out of sorts, Lin Wan’er propped herself up and leaned lazily onto his chest, smiling. “You leave
tomorrow. What else are you thinking about?”
Feeling his wife’s hair tickling his own bare chest, Fan Xian smiled. He put such trivial matters out of his mind, and with a
furtive glance his gaze went past his wife’s night-black hair and greedily fell onto her soft, half-exposed bosom.
Wan’er looked him in the eyes, and felt that her husband’s clear and bright eyes seemed as if they could talk, with their
soft gaze even gentler than that of any average woman. For a moment it seemed as if they were saying he would miss
her, that they were saying he hated to have to part with her, that he would return as soon as he could… Hey—how could
a gaze seem to say such vulgar words?
11
Following Fan Xian’s gaze, she finally realized that her undershirt had slipped down to her waist, and her top half was
completely exposed. With an embarrassed squeal, she hurriedly dug under the quilt.
The sight inspired his arousal, and he feigned anger: “We are husband and wife, and yet you still hide?”
Lin Wan’er’s face half-emerged from the blanket, and she looked at her husband shyly. But there was a shy smile in her
limpid eyes, and her covered lips trembled as she spoke.
Fan Xian couldn’t make out what she had said. Her pale bare foot softly made its way out of the quilt, and her face
emerged, revealing those soft and tender lips. With strands of hair just falling by them, she spoke bashfully. “My
husband, did you not say before that… you wish to preserve… some… sense of mystery?”
The erotic scene had left Fan Xian staring in awe, and now she kept that damnable sense of mystery – he lifted the quilt,
drew her close, and together they watched Venus descend.
Some time later, after the winds had ceased, the rain had stopped, and the clouds had scattered, they were tired, Lin
Wan’er finally opened her lake-like eyes. “You must come back soon,” she said tiredly.
Fan Xian’s eyes were closed, and he had a satisfied smile on the corners of his lips. He ran his fingers through his wife’s
hair. “Don’t worry,” he said gently. “I’ve lived a life full of good luck. The journey will go just fine.”
The next day, outside the prison of the Overwatch Council, which Fan Xian had seen once before, one of the current
heads of the Overwatch Council stood by the iron gate, his face expressionless. Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and saw this
former head of the Seventh Bureau, and was somewhat surprised to see the uneasiness in the man’s eyes.
And, surrounded by secret agents and swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau, a handful of carriages stopped outside the grand
gate. Fan Xian stood some paces away from the carriages, and found that his Overwatch Council colleagues all seemed
inexplicably nervous. The carriages had all been specially made, with walls of steel. The horses, whether from tiredness
or nervousness, were panting incessantly.
With such a tense atmosphere, Fan Xian could not help but frown. He recalled the rumors surrounding this man who was
about to be released from prison.
Xiao En, spymaster of Northern Wei, had had countless subordinates under his command, spread throughout the land.
His spies were placed in every nation, skilled in manipulating the hearts of the people, trained in the use of poisons,
toppling the sovereigns of countless petty kingdoms. Those who died by his hand, directly or indirectly, were enough to
form a mountain of bones. And most fearsomely, this once-celebrated spymaster had a world-class mind and many
powerful methods to employ; who knew how many times he had avoided the blades of assassins dispatched from
enemy countries?
At that time, the civilian official most trusted by the King of Wei was Zhuang Mohan, and the military official he most
relied on was Zhan Qingfeng; but the true pillar of the nation was Xiao En, who was always hidden in the shadows.
At that time, all of the land was in chaos. Thanks to the ruthless methods of Xiao En, the nations surrounding the
Kingdom of Qing had been eliminated, which, as well as greatly expanding Northern Wei’s territory, had indirectly
helped the Kingdom of Qing stabilize the country and found the nation.
But as the Kingdom of Qing slowly rose, Xiao En’s dark hand naturally reached southward. In those years, there had been
chaos in the bureaucracy of the capital. After the demise of the founding Emperor, the two princes had pit themselves

against each other, and behind this was the work of Xiao En. Northern Wei’s fierce armies were waiting for one of the
princes to make a move against the other, at which point they would ride south and swallow up the Kingdom of Qing as
their own territory.
But nobody knew that just at that moment, a young woman named Ye Qingmei, along with her young, blind manservant,
entered the capital of the Kingdom of Qing. On the manservant’s back, he carried a black box.
Thus the two princes had mysteriously died, and King Cheng, the father of the current Emperor, had ascended to the
throne. The Kingdom of Qing had not seen any real damage to its strength, and the capital gradually settled down;
Northern Wei had missed its best chance to invade.
And it was at that moment that a man named Chen Pingping gradually emerged on the stage of history. Chen Pingping
had started as a servant to King Cheng, but for some unknown reason, he had become King Cheng’s trusted aide, always
by his side. And after the unconventional creation of the oddity that was the Overwatch Council, Chen Pingping had
become its Director, a position he held to this day.
The people did not know what the Overwatch Council was at first; nor did they know that Ye Qingmei was still working
behind the scenes. They only gradually became aware of Chen Pingping’s ruthlessness and of his dark gifts.
The world’s two most fearsome secret organizations answered to the world’s two greatest military powers. As the
situation between Northern Wei and the Kingdom of Qing became more and more fraught, they began to secretly move
against each other.
One year, the Kingdom of Qing finally took the plunge and carried out the first northern expedition. This operation,
attempting the impossible, led to miserable defeat by Northern Wei, the most powerful country in the world.
In the face of Zhan Qingfeng’s cavalry and Xiao En’s dense spy network, the Crown Prince of the time – now today’s
Emperor – suffered a series of losses, finally almost dying in the mountains and rivers of the north. The Black Knights,
under the command of Chen Pingping, had led a daring rescue mission, clearing a bloody path through the battlefield to
save his life and bring him back. At the same time, hidden within Shangjing, the capital of Northern Wei, a spy from the
Overwatch Council disseminated rumors and bribed high officials, framing the High Commander Zhan Qingfeng. After a
series of military operations, a small crack finally showed in the battlefield of the mountain ranges of the north.
The road home to Qing was long and dangerous, and troops were caught in dire straits without food or water many
times. Chen Pingping – still young and strapping, unlike today – stoically gave all of his provisions to the Crown Prince
and his subordinates, choosing to drink horse urine and eat wild grass… Finally, they were able to return to the capital,
but with only a tenth of the men they had started with.
On the road, they had depended on a female prisoner from the City of Dongyi to attend to the Crown Prince, who had
seen to his wounds and nursed him back to health. This female prisoner from Dongyi was the mother of the Great Prince
of the Kingdom of Qing: Ning the Talented.
Some time later, the people still surmised that some plot of Chen Pingping’s had caused the royal family of Northern Wei
to lose trust in Zhan Qingfeng, but nobody could say for sure. Even the Empress Dowager could not find out. Only a
handful of people were faintly aware that it was said to have secretly had something to do with the Empress of Northern
Wei.
From that day on, Chen Pingping had the absolute confidence of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. At the same time, a
rumor spread through the land.
12
The North had Xiao En; the South had Chen Pingping.
Chapter 183: Xiao En Leaves Prison
The thick iron door slowly opened, its oiled hinges making no creaking sound at all. But the pressure of the silence made
those keeping watch outside the gate of the Overwatch Council all the more nervous.
Fan Xian lowered his head slightly. His left eyelid twitched. The air that flowed out from behind the iron door felt slightly
cold. It was as if this 80-year-old man – who had lived only as a character in the yellowing pages of history, imprisoned
for 20 years – still gave off all the airs that a spymaster would.
The sound of the iron chain scraping against the paved road was ear-piercing. It got louder and louder, meaning that the
person inside was coming closer and closer to the great iron door.
Fan Xian lifted his head and looked calmly at the iron door. He thought about how Chen Pingping, during the Second
Northern Expedition, had led the Black Knights on a daring surprise raid, kidnapping Xiao En from a wedding he was
attending and secretly bringing him back from Northern Qi. What graceful skill must it have taken? But as a result of this,
Chen Pingping had also lost both of his legs. This Xiao En was a powerful man indeed.
After Xiao En had been imprisoned, the Kingdom of Qing attacked the north once more. After the Third Northern
Expedition, Northern Wei – which had once considered itself unparalleled on the world stage – was left shattered,
fracturing into numerous petty kingdoms. The family of the military commander Zhan, who directly inherited the power
of Northern Wei and the majority of its territory, founded a new nation: Qi.
This was the history of the current nation of Northern Qi. Commander Zhan Fengqing had been censured despite his
innocence, and Northern Qi had then fallen apart. Finally, the Zhan family had arisen from these shambles. It was quite a
story indeed.
The spring sunshine softly filtered through the big trees outside the prison, shining onto the iron door. The mottled
traces of light upon the door also fell upon that old face at the same time. The sound of the iron chain dragging against
the floor came to a sudden halt, and there was the sound of an aged sigh.
The four swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council held firmly to his chains as if they were facing some
great enemy, keeping their distance from the man in the cangue [1] fastened around his neck. The man in the collar had
a head of completely white, unruly hair. He looked to be in complete disarray. His wrists and feet were bound in steel
manacles and leg irons, and yet the clothing on his body was completely clean.
The sound of the aged sigh had come from his wizened old lips. “It has been a long time since I last saw the sun,” he
sighed again quietly.
This was Xiao En, imprisoned by the Kingdom of Qing for 20 years. Seeing him walk out of the Celestial Prison, the guards
around him felt inexplicably nervous, as if the air had slowly been filled with the slightly-sweet smell of blood. Fan Xian
frowned. The air around the old man was enough to drive people mad. The people around him gripped the blades on
their waists tightly, or fingered the triggers of their crossbows, taking aim at this tall but stooped old man.
There was a muffled cracking sound!

The former head of the Seventh Bureau, now a cloudy-eyed jailer, had hit Xiao En in the spine with his stick for no
reason!
But Xiao En did not seem to feel a thing. He slowly turned his head to look at the former head of the Seventh Bureau,
and coughed gently. He brushed the messy hair from his face, exposing a pair of cold, dark, serene eyes. A croak came
from his withered lips. “Neighbor, we have lived together for 20 years. I am leaving now, and this is how you see me
off?”
The former head of the Seventh Bureau slowly closed his eyes, the hand holding his wooden cudgel drooping down. He
seemed scared of Xiao En’s gaze, and forced himself to breathe as he spoke. “These people are all of a younger
generation. Why should you provoke them? If these children were to accidentally kill you, I presume you would not be so
willing.”
Xiao En slowly blinked. He looked at the handsome young man among the crowd who surrounded him.
Realizing that Xiao En was looking at him, Fan Xian used his zhenqi to settle his mind, and smiled back at him.
Xiao En was somewhat surprised. Such a young person, and yet so calm. He shook his head slightly. “I am leaving the
Kingdom of Qing,” he said to the jailer. “I presume you will not stay inside the Celestial Prison any longer. But I think you
hope for my death. Otherwise I will find a way to repay you for your 20 years of company.”
The jailer’s face did not change. “I wish you a pleasant journey. Do not return.”
Xiao En hissed with laughter. “I shall return.” He looked the jailer in the eye, speaking each word carefully. “Every
punishment you have inflicted upon me, I shall inflict upon your children.”
The jailer closed his eyes. He knew that if Xiao En could recoup his hidden power in Northern Qi, then he would make
sure to exact revenge upon him specially. He would have difficulty keeping his family safe.
Xiao En looked up at the sky and laughed, and the thick iron chains fastened to him clanked, seemingly also afraid of this
terrifying man who had gained his freedom.
The gathered personnel of the Overwatch Council were thoroughly nervous. Fan Xian, hearing the bitter resentment in
his laughter, was not only slightly nervous, but narrowed his eyes, still completely puzzled as to why the Eldest Princess
had played such a trick.
There was an air of trepidation outside the prison of the Overwatch Council. It seemed they had sensed the slight sheen
of blood on the wooden collar the man wore.
At that moment, there was a groaning sound, and an ordinary black wheelchair slowly approached the man in the
cangue.
Fei Jie pushed the wheelchair which Chen Pingping sat in.
The wheelchair rolled quietly, but like a temple bell, it freed those gathered from their anxious mood. Seeing the
Director arrive, they let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
Their nervousness in facing Xiao En was because they did not know what this person – who they had heard of only in
legend – would do if he were ever to escape from prison.
13
With Chen Pingping’s arrival, they felt more at ease, because the personnel of the Overwatch Council all deeply believed
that as long as Director Chen was there, Xiao En would not be able to resist them.
Chen Pingping slowly raised his head and looked at the old man in the cangue. “What are you laughing at?” he said
gently. There was a hint of disdain in his voice, and a hint of curiosity.
The disheveled Xiao En looked at Chen Pingping in his wheelchair, and suddenly spoke. “I was laughing about your legs,
destroyed by my hand.”
Chen Pingping smiled and shook his head. “I thought you were laughing at your own pathetic life. I’ve had you locked up
for 20 years. Is there anything else that needs to be said? I am the victor, and you have been defeated. It is a fact that
has gone down as part of history. And you can never change it.”
Xiao En snarled. His hair, as silver as a blade, scattered behind him. Furious, he took two steps forward, his iron chains
shaking. The four swordsmen from the Sixth Bureau, holding the chains fastened to his thick cangue, finally pulled him to
a stop. As they struggled, the dust in front of the prison was kicked up.
Chen Pingping was not worried in the slightest. He regarded him with pity. “So old, and yet so angry?”
Xiao En suddenly closed his eyes and faced the sky. Some time later, he opened them again, and they shone with a frigid
cold light. “Chen Pingping, are you truly daring to let me return to the north?”
Chen Pingping smiled. “Go back and live out your retirement in peace. These days, my arms and legs are old. I don’t feel
like running so far to capture you again.”
Xiao En’s voice was as sharp as a knife, his aged timbre was like a streak of rust, scraping the ears of everyone who heard
him. “My son died by your hand at his wedding. I hope you do not get the chance to capture me again.”
Chen Pingping beckoned Fan Xian, who walked over with a smile on his face. The closer he got to Xiao En, the more he
felt his innate coldness, but he did not let it show on his face.
“We are old. What can you still do? Supposing I were to capture you again…” Chen Pingping smiled. “Xiao En, this is Fan
Xian. He is my successor. He will accompany you on your journey north. I hope you will not be lonely.”
Xiao En leaned to one side, the chains of his cangue and leg-irons making clanking sounds. Through his hair in front of his
eyes, the old man looked at the young man, this delicate and handsome young official of the Overwatch Council. He said
nothing for a long time. Fan Xian finally saw clearly the unfading resentment in the man’s eyes.
Pushing the wheelchair, Fei Jie spoke slowly. “Master Xiao En, the poison at the wedding was my doing. It just so
happens that Fan Xian is my student.”
Chen Pingping and Fei Jie both smiled. Fan Xian saw fit to speak with a smile. “Xiao En, as you are an elder, I shall
accompany you in the days that follow.”
Xiao En chuckled, but there was no happiness in his laughter, only cold-blooded murder. He had suffered the greatest
defeat of the era, inflicted upon him by Chen Pingping and Fei Jie, but he had not imagined that his young escort to the
north would be so deeply connected to them. He turned his head slightly to look at Fan Xian, and spoke slowly. “You are
green. You should take more care on the road.”

Fan Xian bowed politely. “On the road, I hope to learn much from you, sir.”
The thin grass on the side of the road was like shards of jasper. The trees hung low in the air by the side of the carriages.
The silent convoy left the prison of the Overwatch Council, going along Tianhe Avenue to the north of the city. Along the
road, the city garrison had set up security checkpoints. The long street was emptied of people, and only soldiers stood
guard. In the distance one could faintly make out bowmen from the Sixth Bureau, stationed in the high towers.
The side door to the palace grounds was closed, and vice-commander Gong Dian coldly watched the convoy go past on
the street from a distance. Suddenly, he spoke. “I rather admire Fan Xian.”
The military officer to his side frowned. “Sir?”
The corner of Gong Dian’s lip curled upward. “You have never had dealings with Xiao En, so you have no idea how
dangerous this is. Fan Xian’s name is known throughout the land, and he is a powerful person with connections to the
Emperor. There is no need for him to take such a journey to Northern Qi. And yet the boy has the gall to take on such a
task… I really do admire him.”
Fan Xian sat in the front carriage of the convoy, resting his eyes. The real diplomatic mission had left the capital
yesterday. This group of people plus himself—because Xiao En had been part of Yan Bingyun’s secret agreement—had
followed along later. Last night, he had vetoed his family’s absurd notion of seeing him off. His mind was focused entirely
on the mission.
The rocking of the carriage was making Fan Xian sleepy. He was calculating a number of things. Other than Xiao En, he
was also considering the thorny problem of Si Lili and Operation Red Sleeve. He finally recalled that the charming young
woman he had once spent the night with was in the carriage behind them, and he couldn’t help but feel somewhat
surprised.
At that moment, the carriage jolted. He knew that the convoy had just passed over the stone threshold of the city’s
northern gate.
[1] A cangue was a large square wooden board fastened around the necks of prisoners in feudal China. It was often so
large that the prisoner would be unable to reach their face to feed themselves.
Chapter 184: Outside the Capital
Once outside the capital, the sun started to set. The envoy slowly made its way north along the main avenue, under the
gazes of willow and poplar trees.
The accompanying city guards returned after about nine kilometers. Guard duty for the rest of the journey fell on the
Commander of Defense. For this diplomatic mission, the most important vehicles were horse-drawn carriages. There
were dozens of them; other than carrying people, many were carrying gifts as well.
Xiao En was still in shackles, locked in the second carriage. In it with him was an official of the Overwatch Council who
took care of his daily necessities. That official was all smiles as he carefully wiped the prisoner with a towel. The towel
was very soft, it wouldn’t cause any harm to Xiao En’s already withered face.
“If I catch you and use you to threaten that Fan youth, would it work?” Xiao En’s old and dry voice rang out with the
sound of chains. He said this in a nonchalant manner, as if he already guessed the answer.
14
The official smiled warmly and said, “Mister Xiao, since they assigned me to take care of you, of course I am prepared. As
a loyal subject of Qing, if you were to hold me hostage, I could only ingest poison so that I wouldn’t cause unnecessary
trouble for my higher-ups in the Council.”
Xiao En closed his eyes. The chilling aura surrounding him seemed to be fading a bit. He said lightly, “My hair is too long,
help me tie it.”
As they talked, they seemed to be overlooking one thing—Xiao En was still restrained. How could he do anything to this
official? Perhaps they both knew that once they were far from the capital, those shackles couldn’t restrain Xiao En
forever.
The official walked over to Xiao En and took out a comb from a small cabinet. He then carefully combed Xiao En’s waist-
length white hair. His hand was incredibly steady.
Many decades ago, Xiao En was one of the few ninth-ranked masters in the world. Had he not been imprisoned for
twenty years by the Overwatch Council and subjected to torture and poison, he would have been at the level of a
grandmaster by now.
Even so, an ill tiger is still a force to be reckoned with. From the way he stepped out of prison, and the natural aura he
gave off, one could tell this old man still had terrifying power.
If Xiao En decided to make a move now, that official would have no chance of resisting. But with his calm smile, Xiao En
knew his resolve must have been firm. Once captured, he would immediately ingest poison. Xiao En did not know where
the poison was hidden.
“Is Qing really that good? Good enough for you to happily accompany a demon like me?” That was something Xiao En
never managed to understand. Despite Qing’s political circle being equally rotten, the nation was illogically powerful. In
comparison, the Imperial court of Northern Wei split apart, although it was partially due to Xiao En being captured with
Master Zhan Qingfeng.
The middle-aged official said respectfully, “Should I die, the council will take care of my family. Once my child turns
twelve, he will be awarded. Besides, I believe Sir Fan will help my family. He is very rich. This cheap life of mine can be
exchanged for so much. It’s a great deal.”
Xiao En moved his wrists, the sound of the chains accompanied his annoyance. “Same old tricks… What is your name?”
The middle-aged official chuckled, “My name is Wang Qinian.”
Fan Xian opened the curtains of his carriage and looked at the second carriage of the envoy. He summoned a Tiger Guard
and asked, “How is the person that was assigned next to the carriage doing?”
What were the Tiger Guards? That topic would have to go back to when Count Sinan talked with Director Chen Pingping
for the second time outside the palace. In any case, with his son about to leave to a foreign nation, Director Fan finally
could not hold back the hidden strengths he held and assigned a detachment of Tiger Guards to the envoy.
Each one of the Tiger Guards was quite strong. While they couldn’t compare to the Fifth and Sixth Bureaus, they were
still carefully chosen for the job. Their loyalty to their master was unquestionable, to the point of being indescribably
ferocious.

Fan Xian had vaguely guessed that his father was actually taking charge of the Tiger Guards for that emperor deep within
the palace. They might even help to keep the Overwatch Council, but obviously it wouldn’t be just them doing the
controlling. In order for Count Sinan to dispatch seven Tiger Guards to follow his son, he must have gotten permission
from the palace.
The leader of the Tiger Guards was named Gao Da. He answered respectfully, “Rest assured, Young Master. Even though
no one is from the Sixth Bureau, we can guarantee safety.”
Because these Tiger Guards belonged to Director Fan’s private forces, Gao Da called Fan Xian “Young Master” rather
than “Sir”. But Fan Xian still wasn’t used to it, so he laughed.
The soldiers of the Commander of Defense surrounded this strange envoy, slowly making their way north. They were
silent in their armor; for them, it was a rather casual trip. But the leading military officers who knew the details felt
unpleasant. Their silence represented a type of humiliation.
For the past dozen years, under the leadership of the current emperor, the Qing military had never suffered a single
defeat; winning had become a habit for the soldiers. Last year as well, in what was deemed to be a “border conflict”,
Qing had still been the victor. However, now the victor was forced to back down—for a severely despicable reason—and
return Xiao En to Northern Qi!
As if given wings, Fan Xian’s propaganda had spread to every corner of the capital, so those military officers knew about
the Eldest Princess’s detrimental involvement. All of the military’s dissatisfaction toward the royal family seemed to be
focused on that beautiful yet insane woman.
Fan Xian was still troubled by that—the Eldest Princess, while insane, was not stupid. What good could she gain by
selling out Qing’s leading spy, Mister Yan, to Northern Qi? If she had done it only to have Zhuang Mohan come to the
capital to embarrass Fan Xian, there was no way Fan Xian would believe that; he didn’t believe he was that important.
If the Eldest Princess called for Northern Qi’s aid for the struggle for the throne, wouldn’t it severely offend the majority
of the military? No matter how one looked at it, this was not a profitable deal.
The envoy had journeyed for half a day. As the sun descended behind the mountains, and the light grew dim. The group
stopped by the edge of a vast forest to take a rest. An assistant officer came up to Fan Xian. According to regulations, the
envoy should stop by the courier station one and a half kilometers ahead and settle for the night.
Fan Xian shook his head. He ordered to discuss the matter later and have the group rest here for now. He then got out of
his carriage, stretched his body, which was getting numb from long periods of sitting, and walked toward the back.
That leader of the Tiger Guards followed Fan Xian in silence, his hand on the hilt of his long saber. Fan Xian noticed the
length of that saber was a bit absurd, so he asked, “Won’t it be difficult to draw from the scabbard?” Wu Zhu had taught
him the importance of reaction speed in combat. The longer the weapon, the slower its wielder would react.
Gao Da raised his long saber to Fan Xian and explained, “There is a mechanism that enables a quick draw. Because of our
guard duty, all seven of the Tiger Guards use these extra-long sabers. The extra range is all we need.”
Fan Xian nodded, signaling to Gao Dao not to follow him. He had already reached the second carriage. Slightly sniffing
the air, Fan Xian thought he felt a chilling aura and smelled the faint scent of blood. He smiled as he thought of the
possibility of Wang Qinian going crazy from staying with that old monster for the entire trip.
15
As he had expected, as soon as he got into the carriage, Wang Qinian was standing at the entrance with a pained
expression. “Sir, when may I take a break?”
“In two days.” Fan Xian patted him on the shoulder and then asked, “Did Xiao En make any strange moves?”
Wang Qinian shook his head and calmly reported Xiao En’s every move to the young Sir Fan. Fan Xian listened quietly,
knowing all Wang Qinian said would be heard by Xiao En. But he wasn’t worried. After some time, he told Wang Qinian
quietly, “I’m going in to take a look.”
“It’s dangerous.” Wang Qinian shook his head in disagreement. “A sickly tiger is still a tiger. While he may not be his
former self, he was still once a ninth-ranked master. If you aren’t careful and get taken hostage, what are we going to
do?”
Fan Xian replied, “Be at ease. Xiao En is not stupid. We are not yet ten kilometers from the capital, for him to make a
move now would seal his death.” Of course, Fan Xian knew how scary Xiao En could be. What does it mean to be ninth-
rank? Fan Xian had experienced the power of one through Yan Xiaoyi’s arrow on the night when he infiltrated the palace.
“There’s still a long way to go. I’ll have to see him eventually.” Fan Xian laughed.
In the dark carriage, the cold Xiao En kept a gloomy expression. His white hair had already been tied back. Fan Xian held
a small box and entered. “Mister Xiao, the journey to Northern Qi is a long one. Please have some food and water.”
Xiao En slowly opened his eyes. Their cold bitterness flashed for a brief instant. He smiled and replied, “Please, if Sir Fan
would go through the trouble.”
Fan Xian didn’t appear to be afraid in the slightest as he opened the box with a bright smile. Carefully, he held a pastry
up to the old man’s still-withered lips. He then gave the old man some water.
There was silence for a while, and then Xiao En suddenly spoke. “Those poison are useless.”
Chapter 185: An Artless Poisoning
Naturally, inside the pastry was an essential, first-rate poison that Fan Xian had meticulously prepared for the journey
northward.
He presumed that his companion, owing to his identity, also felt it beneath his dignity to cheat. Seeing that he had seen
through it, Fan Xian gave a pained smile. “I was confident that this drug powder had no unusual taste to it at all. How did
you detect it, Master Xiao?”
Xiao En looked at him and slowly closed his eyes. “You are a student of Fei Jie. No matter how you may try to distinguish
yourself, you cannot escape his shadow. I consumed Fei Jie’s poison in your prison for decades. He and Chen Pingping
could not bring themselves to kill me. They could only use poisons to damage my body’s meridians. If you had eaten
pastries from a vendor for over a decade, and then one day, that vendor had a new apprentice who made a pastry,
although it might taste of scallion, I think you would still be able to taste that vendor’s product.”
Fan Xian felt a slight admiration deep in his heart. He sighed. “Perhaps every vendor’s flour and water quantity is
different.”
“Correct.” Xiao En smiled. It was a smile that could make one feel a chill. “Poison is the same. For an old bastard like me,
sampling poison is not a case of detecting flavor, but simply feeling with the mouth.”

Fan Xian opened his mouth, wanting to speak, though ultimately just sighed and smiled. “It’s like eating poison as if it
were simply plain cooked rice.” Since Xiao En had tasted the poison in the pastry, and yet still ate it calmly, it appeared
as though the poison was useless. “There are three grandmasters specializing in the poison in all the land,” he said with a
smile. “My teacher is one. Another one is already dead. I almost forgot that you were the third, Mr. Xiao. It appears I
rather overestimated my own capabilities.”
Xiao En moved his wrist, and his iron chains clanked. Fan Xian placed fresh water into his hand. Having drunk the water
bowl dry, Xiao En suddenly closed his eyes and smiled. “If I wish to relieve myself, then what is to be done?”
“There is a chamber pot in the carriage.”
“The sun is quite nice outside.”
“It has already set behind the mountains.”
“It is also nice to see the evening sky in the Kingdom of Qing.”
“It gets cold at night. You are old, sir. It is best that you rest inside the carriage.”
The old man spoke softly, his eyes closed, and the young man replied with a smile. Xiao En opened his eyes calmly. “I
have spent many years in prison, seeing only a crack of light from the door. Master Fan, will you allow me to go out and
look?”
Fan Xian shook his head resolutely. But a smile still hung on his face. “It is dangerous.”
“I am not dangerous,” said Xiao En gently. “Since you have already reached an agreement with the north, anyone with
even the slightest wisdom would know that it would be my smartest choice to peacefully follow the diplomatic mission.”
“Mr. Xiao,” Fan Xian replied calmly, “on the road out of the capital, the safety of the diplomatic mission throughout its
journey is the responsibility of the city garrison. I think you can guess why the Kingdom of Qing wishes to exchange you
with Northern Qi. It is quite a humiliating affair. So I am worried that if you were to get out of the carriage wearing your
leg-irons and manacles, it is possible that a volley of arrows might suddenly be launched from afar, turning you into the
hedgehog.”
Xiao En knew that this young enemy was not telling falsehoods. He smiled. “Can it be that you do not wish to kill me? If I
return to the north, then within three years, I will have wreaked unbearable damage upon your nation.”
Fan Xian shook his head, his self-confidence showing through the smile on his handsome face. “I am not of the older
generation, so my respect for you is solely a product of legends. I never presumed that you would return to the north
and cause as much damage as you did in the past. Of course, if I could kill you, it would be the simplest way of dealing
with you, but by comparison, I consider exchanging you as a bargaining chip to be more important. So do not be
concerned. I will protect your life until you arrive in the Northern Qi city of Shangjing and are handed over to those
friends of yours.”
Xiao En was silent.
16
Fan Xian smiled. “Until now, I had no way of precisely determining your current strength, so I have been extremely
careful throughout the journey. As for you leaving the carriage, I have enough power at any time to ensure that should
you try to leave , I can respond quickly and appropriately.”
Xiao En smiled, still saying nothing.
Since the secret poisoning had been seen through, and clearly had no effect, it seemed time for a more uncivilized
approach. Fan Xian exhaled and stood up, stepping over the iron chains firmly bound to Xiao En’s hands, and tied a
length of black cloth around Xiao En’s elbow, softly but impolitely patting the back of his hand.
Then he removed a small box from inside his jacket, opened it, and took out a sharp and slender needle. The thin syringe
had been skillfully hollowed out. The back end of the needle bulged. It wasn’t clear what material it was made from, but
it could be presumed that it was used to store medicine. Xiao En’s eyes went blood red and he looked Fan Xian in the eye
coldly. Fan stepped steadily closer, carrying the needle.
There was a sudden eruption of a strange feeling in the carriage. Fan Xian sensed a slight sweetness on the tip of his
nose. The air was filled with the smell of blood, faintly red, coming from Xiao En’s angry body.
The guards and the officials of the Overwatch Council outside the carriage immediately felt that something was amiss
inside it, and silently rushed forth, drawing their weapons. Keeping watch outside the carriage, Wang Qinian turned his
head and frowned, then waved his hand dismissively at them to indicate that there was nothing wrong.
In the carriage, Fan Xian slowly withdrew the needle from the back of Xiao En’s hand, using a cloth to wipe the tip. He
raised his head and smiled. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Xiao.”
Unsure which acupoint the needle had pierced, and unsure what drug he had injected him with, Xiao En’s astonishing
and imposing manner had already diminished greatly. Even his face appeared to have become more withered.
“My respect for you is as an elder,” said Fan Xian, stooping to step out of the carriage. “But remember, right now, you
are not the spymaster of Northern Wei, neither are you the one who struck fear into hearts across the land. You are
merely my prisoner, and nothing more. If you try to escape, I have many ways to kill you.”
“Master, there is no need to be so cautious,” said Wang Qinian, accompanying him as he sat beneath a tree by the side
of the road. He saw the fatigue on Fan Xian’s face. “If Xiao En wishes to regain his freedom, then he should co-operate
with us in passing the border to Northern Qi.”
Fan Xian shook his head. “You don’t understand. For someone like Xiao En, given that he has been imprisoned for nearly
20 years, what else is there? Look into his eyes. Other than resentment what else is left? A terrifyingly clear vision, and a
burning ambition. If he only seeks freedom, then he will cooperate with us. But if he seeks more, he will think of a way to
flee. In the Overwatch Council prison, he was watched closely, and didn’t have a chance. But on this slow road north,
there are too many opportunities. So I want to think of every single way possible to weaken his strength and his resolve
while still keeping him alive.”
“Why does he want to escape?”
“Because the regime now in the north is not the regime of Northern Wei – the one he served for many years and was
even imprisoned for – but rather that Northern Qi.” Fan Xian smiled. “Although the royal family of Northern Qi is the
House of Zhan, and Commander Zhan Fengqing and Xiao En had good relations at the time, there has been a change of
dynasty. Xiao En has been imprisoned for many years, and is not sure how the current northern royal family sees him. If
the royal family of the north considers him to still be of use, then he will be treated as an honored guest. But if he is of

no use, do you think that the royal family of Northern Qi would be mad enough to allow such a terrifying spymaster to
establish himself in Shangjing once more?”
Then why does Northern Qi wish to trade Master Yan for Xiao En?”
“Because of two people,” Fan Xian explained cursorily. “One is Zhuang Mohan, and the other, I presume… is the famous
northern general Shang Shanhu.”
“Master, you presume that the reason that Xiao En would risk an escape is because he does not trust the royal family of
Northern Qi?”
Fan Xian thought of what Wu Zhu had told him, and sighed quietly. “For people in our profession, no one can be trusted.
As for Xiao En, he undoubtedly has other ideas, but I am unable to guess at them. All I know is that he must reach
Shangjing alive. It is that simple.”
“Where could Xiao En make his move?”
“Before we cross the border. If we cross the border into Northern Qi, even if he escapes, he is also the responsibility of
Northern Qi. Since Xiao En wants to have Northern Qi recognize his position, he cannot break the agreement,” said Fan
Xian calmly.
He suddenly stood up. “We cannot go to the relay station today,” he ordered. “We will make camp in the countryside.”
His subordinates received his order, and each went to his own team to organize setting up camp. Wang Qinian looked at
Fan Xian, somewhat puzzled. Fan Xian shook his head. “We must train ourselves and adapt. After leaving Cangzhou,
there will be no relay stations we can use in the north. We must take advantage of our closeness to the capital and get
the subordinates used to the situation as quickly as possible.”
“A battlefield operation is not playing house.” Wang Qinian, seeing his master’s concern, tactfully began to play the
supporting role.
Fan Xian quietly clapped his hands together and waved him away with a smile. Then he sat quiet and alone beneath the
tree, looking at the carriage and thinking about the old man inside.
“I hope you don’t change your name to Shawshank.” [1]
When he had injected him with the needle in the carriage earlier, Fan Xian had still been somewhat nervous. He didn’t
know whether or not Xiao En might have flown into a rage. After some investigation, he still did not know how much
strength was left in this ninth-level master – one of only a handful in the world – after his years in prison. But he knew
that before he caught sight of his best opportunity, the fearsome Xiao En would be honest.
The mountain wind blew past the tree behind Fan Xian, blowing past the cold wet patch of sweat on the clothes on his
back. Some time later, he stood up, his face expressionless, and headed toward Si Lili’s carriage.
[1] The character “Xiao” in Xiao En’s name is also used to spell the word “Shawshank” in Chinese, as in “The Shawshank
Redemption”, a movie about an escaping prisoner.
Chapter 186: Romance in the Carriage
17
Time can change a great many things, including people’s faces and minds. But there are exceptions. As Fan Xian walked
into Si Lili’s carriage, the first thing he saw was a gaunt, pale, but still beautiful woman. She had been in prison for the
greater part of a year, but it didn’t seem to do any damage to the complexion that she flaunted on the pleasure boats of
the Liujing River.
When she saw Fan Xian enter, Si Lili felt a slight joy, her eyes frenetic. It seemed that she didn’t know how to address
him, nor was she sufficiently prepared for this encounter.
Fan Xian calmly looked the young woman in the face. Her eyebrows were still as supple as willow branches, and her dark
eyes still darted around the room, but her lips had no color to them, looking somewhat pale.
When the two of them had first met, Fan Xian was the illegitimate son of a noble who had just entered the city for the
first time. Si Lili was the most popular young woman on Liujing River. That night, they had caressed each other to the
point of madness, and though it was not true ecstasy, they had essentially performed the most intimate of acts between
a man and a woman.
But he had not expected Si Lili to be a Northern Qi spy planted in the Kingdom of Qing; by way of the Second Prince’s
invitation, she plotted Fan Xian’s assassination with Wu Bo’an. Fan Xian was lucky to escape with his life. Finally, he had
entered the Overwatch Council, and now had received the duty of returning Si Lili to Northern Qi.
He calmly looked her in the face, his gaze going from her eyes to her nose to her lips. Somehow, he found himself
recalling her touch that night on the pleasure boat; although it did not give him pause, he still felt something
indescribable. After all, before he had gotten married, and apart from a couple of servant girls in Danzhou, she had been
the woman with whom he had been the most intimate.
“A few days ago, I was passing by the Liujing River on horseback.” Fan Xian gently broke the silence in the carriage. “I saw
that pleasure boat.”
Si Lili was somewhat taken aback. She hadn’t expected this handsome and elegant young man to start off with that sort
of opening remark. She had fully believed that what was to follow would be a solemn conversation.
Fan Xian laughed. “It’s already in ruins, but I don’t think you much cherish the memory of the place anyway.”
Si Lili smiled, a little embarrassed. “We are but duckweed, adrift on the waters. Please, do not mock your servant, sir.
“I do not like to hear the words ‘your servant’.” Fan Xian looked into her bright, intelligent eyes and smiled. “Some things
in life are truly remarkable. You once wanted to kill me. Such was your mission. Although I cannot forgive you, I also have
no prejudice against you for this. I told you in the prison of the Overwatch Council that if you provided me the name of
the mastermind behind it, I would find a way to let you live. But I must tell you clearly, I made no effort to have you
returned to Northern Qi. So there is no use in thanking me.”
Slightly startled, Si Lili raised her head, her lips slightly parted, wanting to speak but saying nothing. She was less and less
sure of this young man – at one moment pure and amiable, the next cold, dark, and frightening. Why did he want to say
such things?
“From the day you left prison, we became colleagues.” Fan Xian sat down beside her and leaned in relaxation against the
side of the carriage. He could smell a faint fragrance, and he knew that it was her own bodily scent. He inhaled it,
appreciating it. “I do not know what agreement you have with Chen Pingping. But since he believes you are trustworthy,
then I trust you. I hope that you can trust me, and we can carry out Operation Red Sleeve.”

Si Lili grasped the green sleeves of her garment with her hands and softly bit her bottom lip, unsure what to say.
“Will you massage me? I’m on edge every day. I don’t know when that old bastard in the front carriage might explode.
There’s a lot of psychological pressure.” Fan Xian wasn’t lying. He really did look exhausted.
Si Lili let out a slight noise of acknowledgement and leaned to one side, kneeling on a soft floor cushion. She carefully
placed her supple, gentle hands on Fan Xian’s head and began to slowly knead his temples.
Fan Xian closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of comfort radiating through his skull and the gentle touch of Si Lili’s
fingers. Unthinkingly, he sighed.
“What is it? Do you feel heavy, sir?” He didn’t know what methods Chen Pingping had used, but Si Lili seemed
completely unlike she had been in the prison – desperate and stubborn – and instead had returned to the way she had
been in the pleasure boat: tender and charming. Her voice penetrated Fan Xian’s heart.
“I was just thinking of punishments,” Fan Xian said gently. “In truth, I was worried what damage they could do to a young
woman’s beautiful hands.”
Si Lili’s fingers stopped at his temples. After a long while, she spoke quietly. “People who have had a hard lot in life are
not so easy to break.”
“There is no need to be resentful. It’s of no benefit to our agreement in Shangjing,” said Fan Xian calmly, his eyes still
closed. “You wanted to kill me, I only wanted to punish you. When you look at it, you owe me.”
Si Lili gently bit her bottom lip once more. The points of her pearly white teeth pressing down on her lip looked utterly
beautiful. There was a soft light in her eyes. “Your s… I do owe you, sir. You could take me back at any time.”
“Take you? Like I did on our first night?” Fan Xian opened his eyes, filled with mischief.
Si Lili opened her eyes that fixed on him with a tenacious, unyielding look. There was a long silence. She looked at this
handsome and elegant young official, and found herself somehow recalling the shameful events on the pleasure boat.
She felt a sudden weakness in her body, and slowly leaned to one side onto Fan Xian’s shoulder, her fingers still
massaging him. “All the women of the world have had a hard lot in life. I don’t know how you are preparing to take me.”
That night on the pleasure boat, Fan Xian had used knockout drops and aphrodisiacs, and Si Lili had reacted strongly. It
was engraved in her memory to this day. Then, in the prison, Fan Xian had punished her without even a hint of remorse,
his heart full of hatred and many other odd feelings.
Fan Xian became aware of the softness on his right shoulder, and knew, without thinking, that it was Si Lili’s soft bosom.
He presumed that she wanted to seduce him, and he took a deep breath to calm himself. As he did, he unexpectedly
inhaled her faint scent, and his heart skipped a beat. He turned his head with a smile. “So where did that Si Ling end up?”
“Still locked up in the capital.” There was no expression on Si Lili’s face. It appeared that Si Ling was not a true friend of
hers.
Fan Xian was increasingly curious as to what Chen Pingping could have done to make Si Lili heed the orders of the
Overwatch Council. He thought for a moment, then frowned. “You are not pathetic, young lady. At least the young
Emperor of Northern Qi still always keeps women in mind.”
18
Si Lili creased her brow and sighed. “One cannot win people over with beauty forever.”
“That’s something I doubt too,” said Fan Xian with a smile. “I don’t know if you’re able to speak of your past with
Emperor of Northern Qi in detail. It is best if we arrange for you to enter the palace after we have arrived in Shangjing.”
This so-called Operation Red Sleeve, as Fan Xian saw it, was merely copying the story of Xi Shi entering the Kingdom of
Wu. From the terms of this secret agreement, he could see that the Emperor of Northern Qi and Si Lili truly had some
feelings for each other; otherwise they would not have stressed the importance of her return. But Si Lili was of low birth
– even if Northern Qi respected her service to the country, they could only show respect, nothing more. Compared to
the Kingdom of Qing, Northern Qi placed even more importance on one’s bloodline and the circumstances of one’s birth.
They could never allow a woman who had once been a prostitute to enter the palace.
Si Lili seemed unwilling to discuss matters of her past. She simply lowered her head. “Do not worry, Master Fan. Simply
get me into Shangjing. Everything after that will be for the Emperor of Northern Qi to worry about.
Silence fell upon the carriage once more. Fan Xian sat by her side, smelling her faint scent. For some reason, he felt some
regret at separating from her touch. He sat in silence for some time before he finally spoke. “You had best get some
rest.”
To his surprise, she suddenly spoke at the same time. “Sir, do you want me to massage you some more?”
“That would be fine,” replied Fan Xian quickly.
“Very well.” There was a trace of disappointment in her response.
After this odd exchange, they both found that a strange atmosphere had fallen upon the carriage. It seemed they could
both vaguely sense something. A warm darkness began to ferment in the air.
Si Lili bit her lower lip once more and kneeled on the pillow, her hands kneading Fan Xian’s shoulders, secretly using her
strength. She did not want to be alone in the carriage, and so she was willing to debase herself in attending to… this
enemy.
There was a slight smile on Fan Xian’s face as he enjoyed the soft touch of the woman behind him. Not only did she not
hold a grudge, she made great effort to fawn on him. Why? Could it be… she had fallen for him? As soon as he thought of
it, he immediately wanted to slap himself around the face. Although he was Pan An, he reminded himself, he was not the
kind of brute to release an aphrodisiac into the air. [1]
Why did he want to stay in Si Lili’s carriage? Fan Xian frowned, and tried to think of a persuasive answer. Perhaps he was
uncertain about this trip to Northern Qi. Perhaps it was because Xiao En was not easy on the eyes. Perhaps… it was really
nothing. He was an ordinary man, and Si Lili was a beautiful woman whose naked body he had once touched. It was only
normal to want to stay with her.
Fan Xian did not linger too long in his fantasies. He knew he was a lech, but he was also a person of unswerving
determination. He would not allow himself to be trapped by tenderness, unable to free himself. He let Si Lili massage
him, just to rid him of some of his fatigue, then he left the carriage.
Wang Qinian came to greet him, and accompanied him as he walked to the rear of the convoy. “Sir, be wary of who may
be listening or watching. After all, we want to deliver Si Lili to the Emperor of Northern Qi. If you are going to spend so

long in her carriage, then make sure the subordinates are dispersed first, so as not to allow rumors to spread throughout
Shangjing. It will have an effect on your future plans.”
Fan Xian knew that his aide had gotten the wrong idea, but he explained nothing, and simply rubbed at his temples.
[1] Pan An, a young prodigy and poet, known for being one of the most handsome men in Chinese history.
Chapter 187: Operation White Sleeve
Having left the capital, the diplomatic mission immediately quickened its pace on the road. No longer under the
contemptuous and distant gaze of the garrison commanders, the members of the diplomatic mission, including the
officials of the Overwatch Council, seemed to be more at ease.
It was March, and as they headed north, the remarkable spring scenery became more and more prominent.
Each county had its own local government office that greeted them. They all knew that the diplomatic mission was
headed for Northern Qi, and so no local official dared to slight them. What was more, among the officials of the
diplomatic mission was the illustrious Master Fan, so every official who greeted them was particularly attentive.
Although they did not dare delay the mission’s schedule,, there was always a great banquet and good company at every
stop, and endless flattery of Fan Xian at the banquet table.
It was at this point that Fan Xian finally realized just how far his reputation had spread throughout the Kingdom of Qing.
He could not help but feel elated, and at the start he could not say no to each banquet. But as they continued on, he
inevitably grew tired of them, and each time he had to repeat his oath that he would no longer write poetry. It was quite
troublesome.
Wang Qinian quite enjoyed the whole thing; he found the elegant dancing of the singing girls at the banquets was very
entertaining. At each stop, the local magistrate would make extravagant arrangements for the company of local escort
girls. Every night was ecstasy, and the things they got up to far surpassed anything he could have done with his aging
wife back in the capital.
But these sorts of arrangements did not interest Fan Xian, because the diplomatic mission included one woman who
even the Emperor of Northern Qi thought of constantly: Si Lili, the most beguiling woman in all the capital.
So Fan Xian gradually lost interest in attending the banquets, only stopping to chat with those high officials who were old
friends of his father. More often he stayed at the diplomatic mission’s encampment: he could keep a close watch over
Xiao En, and also spend more time in Si Lili’s carriage.
Counting on his fingers, they had left the capital around half a month ago. In that half month on the road, Fan Xian had
spent most of his time in Si Lili’s carriage. He was also getting rather tired of spending time with all the men and their
jokes; how could it compare to talking with a beautiful woman?
Si Lili carefully peeled the skin and scraped the pith from an orange before placing the flesh into Fan Xian’s mouth.
Fan Xian was the most senior in the diplomatic mission, and the officials of the Overwatch Council followed him and him
alone; the Tiger Guards were even more devoted. No matter what he did, no one would dare say a word.
But as Fan Xian closed his eyes and slowly chewed the orange, he found himself somehow thinking of his sister. In the
capital, Ruoruo had also often fed him oranges. Then he thought of his wife Wan’er, left at home. His eyes opened
19
slightly, and through a gap in his eyelids, he secretly watched Si Lili as she prepared the oranges. He began to feel
somewhat uneasy.
In truth, on this journey, he and Si Lili had not done anything; they had simply talked and eaten fruit to while away the
boring hours. They rarely even brought up the matter of making arrangements once they had reached Shangjing… Of
course, occasionally there was the massaging of tired bodies, the holding of hands, the watching of scenery outside the
window.
“What are you thinking?” Seeing Fan Xian’s dumbfounded look, Si Lili smiled sweetly. In these days of contact, all she
had seen was Fan Xian’s gentle and exquisite face. She had faintly forgotten the horrors of being taken advantage of as a
feeble woman in the Celestial Prison. The young woman seemed to like the feeling of sitting and chatting in the carriage.
Deep in her heart, she secretly wished the trip would never end.
“I was thinking, uh… you’ve recuperated pretty well over the past few days. Your figure is coming back.” Fan Xian teased
her. “When I touched you once we’d just left the capital… it made my hands hurt.”
Si Lili blushed slightly. “Then don’t touch me.”
Fan Xian smiled and took her hand, grasping her wrist and pulling her into his embrace. His palms slowly caressed her
body. “Don’t you like it?” he said quietly.
“I was born under an ill-fated star. After all, I was bullied by you, drugged by you in the pleasure boat, tormented by you
in the Celestial Prison, and now in this carriage, I cannot escape your clutches…” Si Lili said all of this while leaning on Fan
Xian’s chest. The young man’s embrace was gentle and warm, and she didn’t want to leave. She felt his hand parting her
clothing and moving onto her buttocks. Her heart skipped a beat, her crimson lips parted slightly, and she breathed into
Fan Xian’s ear.
Fan Xian’s ear turned warm and tickled, and he unthinkingly put more weight into his palm.
Si Lili spoke gently, her flattering voice soft as silk, quietly gasping in his ear. “Do you want me? In any case, there’s no
happy ending for me in Shangjing.”
Some time later, Fan Xian left the carriage with a strange smile on his face.
There was a poison in Si Lili’s body, a slow acting drug. In the past few days of their close contact, Fan Xian had
ascertained this early on. It seemed that the Overwatch Council had planted it in advance.
The poison was one that Fan Xian had seen in the book Fei Jie had left him, but he had never seen it in practice. The
poison would slowly spread through the woman’s body, and then could be spread by contact with a man. All that was
needed was for the Emperor of Northern Qi to be intimate with Si Lili, and then he would contract the poison. The
symptoms would look just like a sexually transmitted disease.
No wonder Chen Pingping had been so serious about the matter. Operation Red Sleeve was not a copy of Xi Shi’s
infiltration of the Kingdom of Wu. It was a poisoning plot.
The poison was not untreatable, but it could effectively weaken the target’s body and nerves. Just think. If Si Lili was
truly a favorite of the Emperor of Northern Qi, after their nights of passion, perhaps he would very quickly fall ill. The
factions of the royal court of Northern Qi were gravely opposed to each other. If he were to fall gravely ill, perhaps the
political situation of Northern Qi would fall into chaos once more.

Fan Xian sighed. Si Lili knew that there was poison in her body, but she presumed that it was only a way for the
Overwatch Council to control her. She didn’t know that she could transmit it to the men that she liked.
He felt somewhat uncomfortable about the fact that Chen Pingping had not told him. If he had not felt that something
was strange during his close contact with Si Lili, then he would not have discovered it. Of course, even if he had
contracted the poison, he could treat it quickly, but this feeling of secrecy was still not good.
“Operation Red Sleeve?” He sat in his own carriage and laughed bitterly. “So it’s operation White Sleeve. A conjuring.”
[1]
He knew that compared to Chen Pingping, Fei Jie, and even Xiao En in the carriage behind him, his methods were not
cruel enough and his heart was not cold enough – Si Lili was only a chess piece that could be thrown away at any
moment, but he didn’t know what Chen Pingping could have promised her that would make her blindly willing to be such
a pawn.
But what really surprised Fan Xian was something else. It was the real reason that nothing had happened in all their days
of close contact.
Si Lili was still a virgin.
The diplomatic mission had reached the northern region of the Kingdom of Qing, and before them stood the kingdom’s
northernmost city – Cangzhou. Looking at the vast expanse of city from a distance, Fan Xian narrowed his eyes. The sky
had become somewhat darker and the north wind was strong, dispelling the spring air in all directions. The heavens
were covered by a canopy of black cloud; it was ominous weather.
Finally, the county guard responsible for escorting them came forward to salute them and began to turn back, leaving
behind their own convoy. Although the convoy was long, in the wastelands outside the walls of Cangzhou, it still looked
rather tiny and pitiful.
“How long does it take to reach the border after setting out from Cangzhou?” Fan Xian narrowed his eyes, looking at the
northern horizon.
“We’re going around a big lake, so it’s rather longer,” replied Wang Qinian respectfully. “At least 20 days.”
Fan Xian frowned. “The real danger will be within those 20 days.” He turned his head to the side and looked at the still-
quiet carriage. “How is Xiao En now?”
“You have injected him with poison every day, and I presume he is taking great efforts to dispel it, so he has been calm.
He’s been quiet these past few days It seems he is thinking of something.”
“Be careful.” Fan Xian sniffed the air, seemingly smelling the thickening odor of blood from the carriage.
“Yes sir. The county guard has retreated, and I am not put greatly at ease by the Cangzhou garrison. You know full well,
sir, what happened the last time Si Lili was escorted back to the capital.”
Fan Xian smiled. “Do not be afraid. Passing through Cangzhou will be the least of our security concerns. What I am
worried about is issues from within the diplomatic mission.”
20
As soon as he had said it, a cavalry attachment appeared over a low distant hill in the wastelands. There were around
500 men, all wearing black armor. In the dim sunlight, they conveyed an air of cold menace.
Wang Qinian smiled. “So the Black Knights have arrived. We have nothing to worry about.”
The wind whipped past them, and the stones on the ground rolled slowly along. Wang Qinian and Fan Xian prepared to
get into their carriages and head toward Cangzhou. Fan Xian suddenly paused and slowly turned around. Si Lili had
already left the carriage, and stood by its side, looking at him with a frustrated glare.
“Have someone give Miss Si some more clothes. It gets colder the further north we go. This spring is damned late in
arriving.” Fan Xian looked calm as he spoke, but his heart was pounding; he had barely entered Si Lili’s carriage at all
these past few days.
Wang Qinian looked at Fan Xian a little strangely, then waved a hand to set his subordinates to work. There were three
handmaids in the diplomatic mission; they were there to wait on Si Lili as a future woman of the Emperor of Northern Qi.
But Fan Xian had spent so much time in the carriage over the past few days that those three women could only follow
behind the convoy. A little while later, the handmaids came to Si Lili’s side, and gave her a purple-red cloak before urging
her to return to the carriage to rest.
Si Lili allowed them to fasten the cloak to her, but she did not return to the carriage. She simply stared calmly at Fan
Xian, seemingly trying to find something in his face.
The distant black riders approached the feeble woman in the purple-red cloak. The dull sun hung in the sky. It was a
beautiful scene that made one feel powerless.
[1] A reference to an internet novel called White Sleeve Contamination, which involves a woman who dies after falling in
love and being spurned by a crown prince who gives her poisoned wine, and comes back as a powerful vengeful ghost in
her own body.
Chapter 188: Learning from Xiao En
Having left Cangzhou, the diplomatic mission was escorted for a distance by the Black Knights, slowly and steadily
making their way north. Northern Qi was not truly to the north of the Kingdom of Qing, but rather to its northeast.
Between the two countries lay a great number of powerless vassal states. On the eastern shore lay the largest city in the
land and its most prosperous seaport – the City of Dongyi.
The route the diplomatic mission had chosen did not go through the vassal states, because the more cities the route
passed through, the harder it was to be on guard. Of course, the implementation of this secret agreement between the
two countries could not pass through the City of Dongyi either. If the once-demented Sigu Sword were to descend into
madness, then it could provoke a war between all three states; who would want to be responsible for that result?
So the diplomatic mission crossed north of the wastelands, then made its way eastward around a great lake. Although
the route was much longer, it was also much quieter. Save for a few horse thieves, there was unlikely to be anyone
strong enough to cause them harm.
The journey was quiet. Xiao En was quiet, as was Si Lili. Even Fan Xian, the most important person on the diplomatic
mission, kept quiet. Each person had their own reason for their silence.

Fan Xian withdrew the fine needle from Xiao En’s hand, carefully looking over the old man’s always-weary face. Xiao En
suddenly opened his eyes. The cold light in his gaze hit Fan Xian’s face as if it had taken physical form. He smiled. “The
younger generation are brazen, not caring who sees them.”
“I have a question,” said Xiao En, slowly closing his eyes. “Why do you bind my elbow with cloth? I can guess that it
makes my veins more prominent. But is it really necessary that you go to such trouble to pour this poison into my
veins?”
“It is.” Fan Xian smiled. An intravenous injection, of course, was a much faster method of administering poison than
putting it in food. No one in this world knew methods for intravenous injection, but that didn’t mean that Fan Xian
didn’t. For the fearsome Xiao En, normal poisons had had no effect, and his zhenqi was formidable indeed. Only
intravenous injection could have any effect. Xiao En frowned, and after some time, he suddenly spoke. “This method
seems somewhat familiar, and I will admit that it is indeed effective… it is a shame that I have gotten so old that I have
forgotten who it was.”
Fan Xian’s heart skipped a beat, but his face showed no response. He smiled. “Think back in your own time, Mr. Xiao.”
“Those riders in the distance are Chen Pingping’s minions, correct?” Xiao En suddenly spoke.
Fan Xian was taken aback. There were no windows in the carriage, and he was separated by a thick layer of steel. For
him to be able to know that the distant Black Knights encircled them was truly rather remarkable. “They are the Black
Knights,” he replied gently. “The descendants of the ones who made that daring dash years ago.” He was referring to
Chen Pingping’s leadership of the Black Knights years before, when they had kidnapped Xiao En from his son’s wedding
and brought him back to the Kingdom of Qing.
It had been Xiao En’s greatest humiliation, and had left him incurably wounded.
“When are you preparing to kill me?” Xiao En spoke casually again, without a hint of emotion in his voice.
It was a sudden change in questioning, suggesting some kind of hypnosis. An ordinary person might perhaps have
unthinkingly fallen into the trap – but Fan Xian was no ordinary person. “What?” he said, somewhat astonished.
Xiao En smiled, a faint redness in his narrowed eyes. “I think Chen Pingping does not want me to return to the north.”
Fan Xian shook his head. “I am not in the habit of thinking about my superiors’ motives. I simply wish to do my job.”
“You are a fine young man.” Xiao En looked at him calmly and slowly moved his wrist, placing his heavy iron chain onto
the table.
“What makes you say so, Mr. Xiao?”
“We have travelled for many days, and although you spend much of your time in that young woman’s carriage, you do
not allow your fondness for her to blind you to your duty.” Xiao En spoke indifferently. “Most importantly, you have not
ceased practicing every day, morning and evening. Your willpower is far greater than mine, even in my youth.”
Fan Xian smiled. “I work to compensate for my limited skill. I know that my strength is not great and my innate gifts are
not enough. Naturally, I must practice.”
21
Xiao En shook his head. “Your innate gifts are very good and your powers are strong. But you have never challenged true
strength by yourself, so you have had no way to rouse the true strength of the zhenqi within you.”
Fan Xian looked calmly at the old man’s withered smile. His eyes were deep as wells. He couldn’t help but think – what if
the old man was the first truly powerful person that he could challenge alone?
Having left Cangzhou, the diplomatic mission was under the jurisdiction of the northern army. Their camp was 50
kilometers away from this stretch of grassland. Fan Xian did not wish to cross paths with the ninth-level master Yan
Xiaoyi. The mission took a roundabout route, and in any case, they were under the escort of the Black Knights, so he
presumed that no one would dare try anything. Over the past few days, scouts from bands of mountain outlaws had
tried to discreetly spy on them, but the Black Knights, watching from afar and leading from the front, had scared them
back into the mountains, from which they did not dare to emerge for months.
Xiao En was still quiet. Si Lili was also quiet, and gradually looked increasingly thin and pallid.
Fan Xian looked coldly at the two escorted prisoners, unsure what he was feeling. Over their days together, for some
reason, he had developed pity for Si Lili. Firstly, he pitied her lot in life, and secondly, he pitied her fate. But Fan Xian
trusted his own willpower. He would not save a little only to lose a lot. If something really happened between himself
and Si Lili, then it would cause great problems for the Overwatch Council’s plans in Northern Qi.
He didn’t know how the young Emperor of Northern Qi knew that Si Lili was still a virgin. But if he were to discover that
Si Lili had already lost her virginity, then Operation Red Sleeve would be of no use at all.
But Fan Xian did not much want to look at Si Lili’s somewhat frustrated face. It seemed that the grasp she had on him
was not that strong, so he did not go back into her carriage, and instead spent more time in Xiao En’s carriage, gaining
news and gossip about the past years from the seemingly-silent old man, insider details from around the country. On
one hand, he truly learned much from the once-terrifying spymaster; on the other hand, Fan Xian did not want to give
Xiao En too much time to arrange things in secret.
As the journey carried on and the air outside got colder, the conversations between the shadowy figures of the old man
and the young man gradually turned from the old Kingdom of Northern Wei to current affairs.
“No one can truly unite the land,” said Xiao En casually, looking at him. Over the days, he had gradually warmed to Fan
Xian’s conversations with him. This young official Fan Xian was a fine conversation partner.
“The Emperor of Qing once had two opportunities. One was after the Third Northern Expedition.” Fan Xian frowned.
“The strength of the Qing army at the time was enough to head north and eliminate Northern Qi.”
Xiao En shook his head. “At that time I was already in prison, and had not heard such news. But hearing your
explanations over the past few days, I think there could only have been two reasons why the Emperor at the time
suddenly halted his advance. One reason is problems in the internal politics of the royal court. The other was that he met
with powerful resistance that made him decide that hastily heading northward was a risky idea.”
Fan Xian thought for a moment. At that point, the incident with the Ye family had yet to erupt. The royal court was
entirely under the control of the Emperor and his mother; by all logic there should not have been any internal strife. As
for external enemies… he frowned. Could there really have been anything in the world with the strength to stop the
advance of the powerful Kingdom of Qing?
“The temple.” Xiao En seemed to have guessed what Fan Xian was thinking, and gave him an answer.

Fan Xian shook his head. “An illusory target would not be enough to stop men’s ambitions or lust for power. For an
Emperor, the lure of uniting the land and making the four seas as one would be too great.”
Xiao En smiled in agreement. “With many years of war between north and south, even if Qing to the south were to
defeat Qi, if they wanted to truly stabilize the situation and wipe out all remaining power, it would have taken over a
decade. What’s more, do not forget the City of Dongyi… the place in the world with the highest concentration of ninth-
level masters. Although their power is not enough to defend themselves and expand into new territory, if they make
alliances, they can still cause chaos under the leadership of that idiot Sigu Sword.”
“A triangle is most stable, and the three nations are like a three-legged vessel. It is truly the most stable infrastructure.”
Fan Xian nodded. “Even if the three powers have their own strengths and weaknesses, if any wanted to break the
equilibrium, then they would be the one to suffer the greatest loss.”
“The royal court of the Kingdom of Qing is the same.” Xiao En looked at him with a smile that was not a smile. “The
Emperor, the officials, and that one you said was mad, but is in fact treacherous: the eldest princess. They form a
triangle, as you say. Whoever wishes to break the balance will come to harm.”
Over the past few days, Fan Xian had not refrained from discussing matters of the Qing court. There were no secrets. If
that old man did not die after reaching Northern Qi, he had plenty of ways to find out.
Fan Xian’s temples began to ache. For some reason, he began to remember Si Lili’s gentle touch. “If everyone were
smart enough, then they would keep the balance as it is.”
“Impossible.” Fan Xian looked at him. “Because you moved first, your opponent must react. I wager that the capital has
already become a complete mess. In bringing me to the north, you were lucky to miss such chaos. It’s rather a pity.”
Fan Xian was shocked. Then he listened intently as Xiao En began to give a dispassionate analysis of the situation in the
capital.
Chapter 189: Silent Killings in the Capital
The capital was warmer than the northern regions. The signs of spring could be seen awakening the flowers on tree
branches. Every night, lights from tens of thousands of households illuminated the bridges and rivers. It was a bustling
scene; the perfect time to enjoy the spring.
When the day came, the capital was a bit quiet. Civilians and officials alike felt sleepy and didn’t want to move much, so
there weren’t too many people on the streets.
Past noon, a scholar with a gloomy expression came into the capital from the eastern gate. With him was a married
woman. From their expressions and actions, they didn’t appear to be mother and son. Instead of settling at an inn, they
went straight to an inconspicuous house to the western side of the capital. Only a few people knew the real owner of
that house was an Imperial Censor.
One cannot prevent being made sleepy by the spring weather, but one could be awoken from it. One day in the third
month, thunder descended suddenly. The spring rain began to fall, drenching all the buildings and all the alleyways.
22
Once the Forth Bureau returned with the offending officials and salt merchants, the cheating case finally concluded. One
proctor was exiled 1,500 kilometers away, while the other seventeen offenders received capital punishment. That was
the Emperor’s order. With irrefutable evidence, no one dared to object.
Director Guo was to be executed. Since the founding of Qing, he was the highest-ranking official to receive the death
penalty. The news shook both the court and the rest of the capital. Even the empress dowager asked His Majesty for
mercy. But after some gentle talking, Director Guo’s execution was changed from beheading to hanging so that his body
would remain in one piece. The empress dowager fell silent and didn’t speak further.
Sixteen other officials were to be executed along with Director Guo.
Raindrops fell slowly onto the salt market, the busiest place in the capital during the day. The rain could not disperse the
crowd of people who had gathered to watch the executions.
Those sixteen officials, in their white clothes, were kneeling on a prepared wooden platform. Their white uniforms were
already splattered with blood, hinting at all the torture they had gone through while in prison. With their defeated faces
and unkempt hair, they were a pitiful sight compared to the former glory they once exuded. A few with tougher spirits
opened their dejected eyes and tried to find their loved ones among the crowd. But as they opened their mouths to
shout, they couldn’t make a sound. No one knew what the Overwatch Council did to them.
Mu Tie was assigned to oversee the execution. As he sat on the observation platform, he expressionlessly watched
everything happening in front of him. But the rest of the observing civil officials were obviously disturbed. These sixteen
officials had been their colleagues. Together they had all indulged themselves in pleasure boats and over liquor. Today
they were about to witness deaths of these sixteen men.
There was a restaurant by the entrance to the salt market. Rain fell onto the roof and gathered into a small stream as it
flowed down the rooftiles. Towards the edge, the stream fell, making it look like a tiny waterfall. There were many
buildings in the vicinity, so such “waterfalls” numbered in the dozens. They dove straight down into the stone pavement
like white dragons with a splash.
A senior official rose to announce something, but the sound of those tiny waterfalls made it hard to hear him; the crowd
only saw his lips move. However, towards the end, the official’s expression stiffened as he declared loudly: “Begin!”
The people heard that word clearly and became excited. Each one of them tried to squeeze their way to the front in
order to get closer to this rarely observed spectacle.
The executioner rubbed his hands with spit and wiped the rain from his face. With his great blade on his back, he went
forward to his first victim. After confirming the location of the vertebrates with his left hand, he let out a powerful roar
as his blade came down in a flash.
The sound of the impact became muffled as the sharp blade entered flesh; it was like someone chopping pork.
With a swooshing sound, blood came spurting out of the headless neck, spraying far, far away. The head of that official
fell onto the platform and rolled, as if still afraid of the blade which just separated it from its body. It kept rolling until it
fell off the platform.
Seeing a disembodied head, bloodied and with its eyes still open, the crowd took a large step back out of fright.
The head left a trail of blood, which was then washed away by the rain.

Only now did cheers come from the crowd. But not many cheered, and they weren’t doing it at the same time, making it
very disorganized. On the platform, Mu Tie showed a displeased expression.
With another swing of the blade, another head fell, another stream of blood gushed, another wave of exclamation shot
out from the crowd, and another life was extinguished. There were three executioners in total and soon all sixteen
officials had been beheaded, leaving behind their bodies and pools of blood.
With the fall of each head, the crowd became bolder and bolder, and their cheers grew louder. With the final head, the
cheers were enough to shake the heavens! The rain clouds began to part, as if startled by the noise.
A few bailiffs of the capital’s court tried to find the head of the first executed official, but failed in doing so.
Moments later, a black dog darted out from the crowd. In its mouth, between its sharp teeth was the official’s head. As it
looked around, its eyes gave out a chilling light.
One of the bailiffs struck the dog’s hindquarter with the scabbard of his saber. Barking out in pain, the dog dropped the
head and ran off into the rain.
Days later, something else happened. The Director of the Ministry of Justice was found guilty of taking bribes. The
Overwatch Council discovered a certain amount of gold, silver and illegal items in the residence of his third aunt. After
reporting to the royal court, Han Zhiwei was demoted to a local judge in Yizhou. With this demotion, Director Han fell
from first rank to seventh.
Situated far in the south, Yizhou was a sweltering place. Director Han Zhiwei would probably never return to the capital
again.
Censor Guo Zheng of the Imperial Censorate didn’t seem to be too effected on the surface, but the court still found a
reason to send him to Jiangnan. Although it was a beautiful place, Jiangnan was filled with agents from the Overwatch
Council. It was only a matter of time before they made their move.
The civil officials did not come together and descend into unrest, however. Partly, this was due to the Prime Minister,
and also because the Overwatch Council had solid evidence. Besides all of this, the punishments weren’t too severe. This
event was a heavy blow to the Council.
All of the officials knew that the Council had done it out of revenge. It was revenge in response to the time
Commissioner Fan Xian visited the Ministry of Justice.
Revenge and counter-revenge; control and counter-control; all until a silent equilibrium was achieved. This had been a
recurring theme among Qing’s political circles for decades. That was why while the revenge of the Council and Prime
Minister had tolerantly stopped at a certain limit, no one expected the counterattack from Xinyang and the empress
would come so quickly.
The scholar from before was none other than He Zongwei, who did not take part in the civil service examination due to
the death of his elderly father. He had always been close to the Guo family. He was back home when the shocking news
reached him. In addition to the Director being sentenced to death and having all of his assets seized, He Zongwei’s dear
friend Guo Baokun was nowhere to be found. What enraged He Zongwei even more was the fact that the Crown Prince
of the Eastern Palace did nothing to intervene!
23
The woman who came with He Zongwei had an even stranger background. She was the widow of Wu Bo’an. Wu B’oan
was an advisor planted in the Prime Minister’s manor by the Eldest Prince. Last year, he urged the second son of the Lin
family to conspire with Northern Qi and have Fan Xian killed on Niulan Street, only to suffer a terrible death among the
grape vines.
Wu Bo’an had indirectly caused the death of Lin Ruofu’s only normal son. So naturally, Lin Ruofu, as the Prime Minister,
hated Wu Bo’an. Despite Wu Bo’an’s death, the Wu household still had a lot of property in Shandong. The officials there
were pupils of the Prime Minister. Under the Prime Minister’s wishes, those officials tormented the Wu family. In only
half a year, they took away much of their money. And Wu Bo’an’s own son was imprisoned for no reason and tortured to
death.
This widow, although illiterate, still knew the Prime Minister was too powerful for the Wu household to resist. But her
son’s unjust death drove her to come to the capital to accuse the Prime Minister before His Majesty.
As she was resting outside the city, this poor Lady Wu “coincidentally” met He Zongwei.
He Zongwei was clever. After hearing Lady Wu’s story, he knew those responsible for what had happened to her could
not be allowed to escape punishment. He counseled her, saying he would find a way to enact justice.
After entering the capital, He Zongwei used his teacher’s name and helped Lady Wu settle momentarily at the manor of
an old censor. Recently, mysterious people often stopped by and gently questioned Lady Wu regarding the details of her
tragedy.
He Zongwei watched it all with indifference, only smiling when Lady Wu asked him questions out of fright. He assured
her that officials in the royal court were taking action; the Prime Minister would fall in no time.
The garden of the old censor was somewhat in ruins. He Zongwei stood behind the garden rocks with just a hint of pride
on his face. As he destroyed his secret letter from Xinyang, he thought about what the political circles would be like if the
Prime Minister were to be taken down. Inadvertently, he thought about the Prime Minister’s relatives by marriage—
Minister Fan and the somewhat aloof young madam of the Fan household. He felt a bit of heat in his heart.
Chapter 190: A Blade in an Oil-Paper Umbrella
Barely a few days later, the Imperial Censor wrote a letter impeaching Prime Minister Lin Ruofu on charges of secretly
usurping the property of another and conspiring to commit crimes against the people. This matter shocked all levels of
society, but as Wu Bo’an had been labeled a spy for Northern Qi, generally speaking, public opinion had been on the side
of the Prime Minister.
But as Lady Wu was on her way to make a statement to the Supreme Court, she somehow came across an assassin. It
was unclear whether it was simply Lady Wu’s good fortune, or the bad fortune of the Prime Minister, but at that
moment the Second Prince and Crown Prince Jing were walking together, and just managed to save her.
From that moment on, things began to change.
It was said that inside the palace, His Majesty had asked the Crown Prince and the Second Prince how he should deal
with this matter. After a moment of silence, the Crown Prince said that there was not enough evidence, and that the
Prime Minister had worked tirelessly for the state, so rumors were not to be easily believed. Although the Second Prince
had saved Lady Wu in the street, he and his elder brother the Crown Prince kept silent.
After all, the Prime Minister was head of the bureaucracy; however the matter was dealt with, it would cause a ruckus.

But hearing this from his own son that night, King Jing was angered. He rarely entered the palace, but he did so and
spoke all night with his elder brother, the Emperor. No one knew the specifics of what they had talked about. That night,
His Majesty looked at over a decade’s worth of official documents, looking at the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue
and the hard-won political achievements of the Prime Minister. Silent and dumbfounded, he could only sigh.
“Provincial governor of Shandong Road, Peng Tingsheng… Hm, he passed the provincial exams 11 years ago. At the time,
I had just taken my position. I felt that he was an obedient scholar.” Prime Minister Lin Ruofu was in his forties, but his
face looked old and haggard. “But I didn’t think he would be this obedient. You should be aware that I did not order Peng
Tingsheng to carry out such matters. Wu Bo’an was already dead. If I really wanted to take my anger out on his family, it
wouldn’t be so simple.”
“Perhaps Master Peng tried to fathom your thoughts, Prime Minister, and that is why he did such a confusing thing.” Lin
Ruofu’s trusted aide, Yuan Hongdao, frowned slightly as he spoke.
“Oh?” Lin Ruofu looked at him with a smile that didn’t quite look like a smile. “But Peng Tingsheng is not a confused
person. If the order did not come from the Prime Minister’s office, then he would not put his own career at stake.
Besides, who was it who attempted murder on the street the other day? Why are they investigating my office?”
Yuan Hongdao looked somewhat stupefied. He gently stroked his long whiskers. “He Zongwei is on the side of the
Eastern Palace, but he is merely a pawn. He wouldn’t have the gall to do such a thing. Someone is certainly supporting
him, but I do not know whether it is the Empress or the Eldest Princess.”
“It is Yunrui.” The Prime Minister smiled. “Her power in the court is mainly with the Imperial Censorate. This is her
revenge against me.”
“Revenge for what?”
“For… many things.” The Prime Minister sighed. “Including matters with Chen’er, with her son-in-law, and matters
between her and myself.”
“In truth…” Yuan Hongdao started to speak, but stopped.
“Out with it.”
Yuan Hongdao smiled. “In truth, we must still look to His Majesty’s opinion. If His Majesty does not believe it, then your
position as Prime Minister is as stable as Mount Tai.”
“His Majesty can certainly see such a clumsy strategy clearly.” The Prime Minister smiled. “But the question is whether
His Majesty wishes to see things clearly or not.”
“Why do you say such a thing, Prime Minister?”
“A great number of city officials have died these past few days. I am head of the bureaucracy, and as such it is my
responsibility.” The Prime Minister closed his eyes as he made his analysis. “The most important part is whether His
Majesty wishes to allow me to continue as Prime Minister.”
24
“Prime Minister, there is still a chance to turn things around,” replied Yuan Hongdao respectfully. “I ask that you speak
with Minister Fan. Fan Manor has close relations with the Overwatch Council. If Chen Pingping wishes to stand by you,
then no matter what the Imperial Censorate tries to do to you, His Majesty will also stand resolutely by your side.”
Lin Ruofu shook his head. “His Majesty simply wants me to get out of the way.”
“To get out of the way of whom?”
“The Crown Prince. Or perhaps the future Prime Minister.” Lin Ruofu thought for a moment. “Fan Xian has great power.
If I am still in the court, and he has control of the Overwatch Council and the palace treasury as well as still having me
behind him, then perhaps even the Princes cannot touch him. Some days ago I told him that a tree that stands out in the
forest will be broken by the winds…”
“His Majesty’s opinion is clear. He wants Fan Xian to become a great minister, who can assist the next Prince who sits
upon the Dragon Throne… Since Fan Xian wants the top spot, I will naturally have to resign.” Lin Ruofu smiled. “While I
remain in place, Fan Xian is dangerous.”
Yuan Hongdao was somewhat alarmed, but in the corner of his eye he saw the faint smile on the Prime Minister’s face. It
seemed that he was mocking something.
The sound of Dabao playing in the water could be heard from outside. The Prime Minister’s face seemed to soften. He
stood up, walked to the window and looked out, watching his simple-minded son. He frowned. “Tomorrow I shall have
Wan’er take Dabao to Fan Manor.”
Yuan Hongdao waited for what the Prime Minister was going to say next.
“I will enter the palace and seek an audience. I believe that in light of my years of service, His Majesty will allow me to
have a relatively peaceful retirement.”
Yuan Hongdao was about to speak when the Prime Minister coldly waved his hand to silence him. He turned his head
and gazed at him quietly.
After a long period of silence, Lin Ruofu spoke, a twinge of sadness in his voice. “You wrote the letter to Peng Tingsheng.”
There was a sudden silence in the study. Some time later, Yuan Hongdao finally spoke in a low voice. “That is correct.
Even this assassination attempt was arranged by me, to be carried out by your guards, Prime Minister.”
“Why?” The Prime Minister frowned, seemingly pained. “Ever since I entered the court as an official, you have been my
only friend. I have had great respect for you. Why have you waited all these years to finally move against me and leave
me with no way out?”
Yuan Hongdao and the Prime Minister had been friends for half a lifetime; indeed, they could be called lifelong friends.
To his surprise, Yuan Hongdao had made many arrangements that had left the Prime Minister in such an awkward
situation. He knew too many of the Prime Minister’s secrets, and this entrapment had left Lin Ruofu with no choice but
to concede!
He looked at the Prime Minister’s withered face and spoke with a hint of regret. “Everyone has their own goals and
intentions. Old friend, I have hidden myself in your study all these years precisely for such a day as this. I promised
someone that when they needed you to step down, I would lend a helping hand.”
 25

He had already dismissed the pageboy who was following him. Other than Yuan Hongbao himself, the only other person
Lin Ruofu looked at his old friend, the corners of his mouth slightly curled. “Yunrui must have promised you a great many in the carriage was the coachman. Yuan Hongdao coldly watched him crack his whip. He had a nimble hand and was
things to sell out your friend for glory.” clearly quite skilled.

Yuan Hongdao shook his head. “I am neither selling out a friend, nor do I seek glory… It is simply that His Majesty needs
you to retire, as does the Eldest Princess. The royal court needs you out of the capital. As for glory…” he laughed bitterly.
“I always assumed… if you had never discovered what I have done, I would accompany you to the countryside, and we
could spend our retirements together.”
Lin Ruofu was rather surprised. He felt less and less sure of the true feelings of this advisor who had followed him all
these years.
Night shrouded the capital, and accompanied by a pageboy, Yuan Hongdao prepared his luggage. Somewhat
disappointed and frustrated, he turned around to look at the tightly closed gate of the Prime Minister’s manor. He
sighed quietly and climbed into a carriage.
Some time later, the carriage passed a courier station 40 kilometers away and came unto a desolate and uninhabited
mountain road. At that moment, the carriage slowly came to a halt. The coachman turned his head and fixed Yuan
Hongdao with an unusually sharp glare.
There was a moment of silence before the coachman suddenly spoke. “The Director has asked me to express his
gratitude.” He was quiet for a moment. “Allow me to show my admiration personally, sir.”
Yuan Hongdao felt somewhat hurt. “I do not admire myself… When it comes to the plan in Xinyang, I believe that having
done this, the Eldest Princess will believe me now.”
He was a saboteur; one who had been planted by the Prime Minister’s side many years ago by Chen Pingping.

Inside the carriage, an imperial censor looked at him coldly. “Mr Yuan, when will you give your statement to the
Supreme Court?”

Yuan Hongdao did not look the middle-aged man in the eye. He softly stroked his long whiskers with his left hand, and
after a long time, he spoke dispassionately. “There’s no point. The Prime Minister will seek an audience at the palace
tomorrow. His Majesty will put a stop to the investigation.”

Hearing this, the imperial censor became suddenly angry. “The evidence is there. His Majesty will have that corrupt
Prime Minister sent to prison! If you will not dare to testify, then you will be held responsible. You have followed him for
so many years. Do you really think that you are clean?”

Yuan Hongdao looked at him coldly. He was widely known as a refined master manipulator, and now his gaze was frigid
and severe, like a pair of sharp blades. It struck fear into the imperial censor.

“I only take orders from Xinyang.” Yuan Hongdao looked at the pitiful censor and spoke with a voice like ice. “When have
you ever arranged my affairs?”

The censor was shocked. He finally understood how the Prime Minister’s most trusted advisor could turn traitor at the
most crucial moment… He was on the side of the Eldest Princess!

At dawn, a carriage hurried out of the west gate of the city, its horses galloping unceasingly along the official road
toward Xinyang.

Yuan Hongdao fingered the sharp blade hidden in his umbrella and frowned. He calculated that after he arrived at
Xinyang, that madwoman the Eldest Princess would have orders for the pawn she had kept hidden for so many years.

Deep in his heart, he could not help but feel some remorse for Lin Ruofu. After all, they had been friends for decades,
and he had spent more time together with him than he had with his own family. He had been hidden in the Prime
Minister’s manor for so many years, and had finally fulfilled the promise he made long ago. In the process of the Prime
Minister’s resignation, Yuan Hongdao had played the most dishonorable and yet most important role. Lin Ruofu had not
killed him; Yuan Hongdao was grateful for that.