(Yesterday, reading the book review section, especially one post, made me feel like I had walked into a battlefield or a place of idle gossip, scaring me silly. I admit, as one comrade said, I really have no experience, and Fan Ge'er doesn't have any either... Alas.)

ps: Still asking for monthly votes, everyone, don't find it annoying. I plan to ask for seven days. I had things to do during the day today and didn't have much time to write, but when I went online and saw so many votes, I really...felt very stimulated and very scared.

……

……

The general was not wearing armor, nor did he have the longbow on his back, but even so, Fan Xian still lowered his head slightly, squinting his eyes, just enough to resist the strong aura of arrows emanating from the other party.

Arrows are used to kill people, but the aura of arrows is not murderous intent, just a kind of momentum that seems to tear off all of a person's outer clothes, revealing the cowardly pale skin inside.

With Fan Xian's powerful mind control and strength, he was still overwhelmed by this aura, which naturally showed that this general's cultivation was indeed one level higher than his.

……

……

Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Expedition, Yan Xiaoyi, an absolute powerhouse above the ninth rank, the person most likely to challenge the Grand Master in the world.

"Greetings, Commander-in-Chief."

Fan Xian put on a smile and gave a gentle salute to Yan Xiaoyi.

Yan Xiaoyi stood under the long corridor, his deep eyes washing over Fan Xian's face like spring water. He didn't react to Fan Xian's words, and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "This general will be returning north soon. The thought of not being able to spar with Director Fan during the Lantern Festival and the palace martial arts conference fills me with great disappointment."

The so-called martial arts conference is just a boxing match held by the imperial court. This was Fan Xian's understanding, and he also knew that in a country that prides itself on military achievements and martial power, if Yan Xiaoyi really went crazy and disregarded the Emperor's face, challenging him directly in the palace...

Would Yan Xiaoyi go crazy? Fan Xian certainly knew that the people of the Princess's faction were a bit crazy, especially after her only son, Yan Shen Du, was stabbed to death by that lovely Thirteenth Brother at his instigation.

Could he beat Yan Xiaoyi? Fan Xian asked himself. He couldn't possibly spray poisonous fog in the palace, nor could he use crossbows. In a head-on martial arts confrontation, he was still some distance away from the peak powerhouse above the ninth rank. Although Yan Xiaoyi couldn't use his renowned longbow in the palace, he wouldn't be so stupid as to think that Yan Xiaoyi's extraordinary skills were all on that bow.

So if the martial arts conference became a reality, even if Old Hong could save his life in the end, he would definitely be seriously injured.

At today's military intelligence meeting, His Majesty allowed Yan Xiaoyi to return north ahead of schedule, which was in response to Fan Xian's request, after all, he didn't even want to be injured. But looking at the current situation, Yan Xiaoyi's disappointment and anger were simply undisguisable.

Fan Xian couldn't help but laugh, and smiled gently at this powerful figure in the military: "Commander-in-Chief, I think you've misunderstood something."

Yan Xiaoyi was silent for a moment before saying: "I just want to learn some of Director Fan's little tricks."

Fan Xian was also silent for a moment, then cupped his hands and said: "In this peaceful and prosperous era, it's better to have less fighting and killing."

Under the long corridor, only Fan Xian and Yan Xiaoyi stood facing each other, and a dangerous aura arose spontaneously, but Fan Xian knew that Yan Xiaoyi would never make a move in the imperial palace, so he wasn't too worried, and stared at the other party calmly with his clear eyes.

"Cough cough."

Several coughing sounds came, not from Eunuch Hong, but from a person who was a little short, but whose aura was as solid as Mount Dong, suddenly appearing beside the two.

Ye Zhong.

Fan Xian smiled slightly, thinking that this one had come at the right time, and he didn't want to have any more eye contact conflicts with Yan Xiaoyi.

"Commander Yan, Director Fan, this is an important place within the palace, don't make a loud noise."

When Ye Zhong was in charge of the defense of Kyoto, Fan Xian hadn't been born yet, and Yan Xiaoyi was still hunting in the mountains. His qualifications and status were here, and the weight of his words was naturally much heavier.

Yan Xiaoyi was slightly startled and turned back to salute.

Fan Xian asked with a smile: "Uncle Ye, long time no see, how are you in Dingzhou?"

With Ye Zhong's interruption, Yan Xiaoyi stopped speaking. Ye Zhong also saw the problem between Yan Xiaoyi and Fan Xian. He frowned, thinking that the death of Yan Xiaoyi's only son had always been a mystery. Why did Yan Xiaoyi insist that Fan Xian did it?

"This official still has official business to attend to, so I will take my leave now." Fan Xian took the opportunity to escape quickly.

Ye Zhong nodded.

Yan Xiaoyi said slowly: "Lord Fan must take care of your health."

Fan Xian's heart trembled slightly, knowing what the other party meant by this sentence. A surge of heroism rushed into his heart, and he cupped his hands to the sky and laughed loudly: "With the blessing of Heaven, there's no need for Commander Yan to worry."

Yan Xiaoyi's smile suddenly became a bit cold and piercing. He stared into Fan Xian's eyes and said, word by word: "This sky cannot cover my eyes. Fan Xian, you will die at my hands."

At this time, everyone was in the imperial palace, and Ye Zhong was still by his side. Yan Xiaoyi was so arrogant that he said such threatening words. Ye Zhong couldn't help but frown, but didn't say anything.

Fan Xian looked at this scene and couldn't help but shake his head. Ye Zhong was the father-in-law of the Second Prince, and he was already one of their people. However, Yan Xiaoyi didn't seem to care about anything in front of him, saying that he would kill the Emperor's illegitimate son in this imperial palace. He was truly arrogant and crazy to the extreme.

He flicked his sleeves and said confidently with his face raised: "Yan Xiaoyi, I bet you will die in my hands first, and you will die miserably."

After saying these words, he cupped his hands to Ye Zhong and, without looking at Yan Xiaoyi again, walked leisurely towards the palace gate.

Yan Xiaoyi squinted at his gradually receding back, extremely indifferent.

Ye Zhong also looked at Fan Xian's back, thinking in his heart, where did this young man get his confidence from? The arrangements that had been made for several years must not be affected by Fan Xian and cause some unexpected changes. Thinking this way, he turned back and sighed, patting Yan Xiaoyi's shoulder, and said: "Please accept my condolences, but be careful in the palace, walls have ears. He... is not an ordinary person, he is His Majesty's son."

Yan Xiaoyi's expression remained unchanged, and he said coldly: "I also have a son."

……

……

Walking to the palace gate, Fan Xian's expression had already returned to calm. Yan Xiaoyi and he were already in a situation where one of them had to die, but they needed a suitable location and opportunity to put it into practice. Last time, the situation he arranged was broken by Eunuch Hong. Would he fall into Yan Xiaoyi's trap next time?

And that Wang Shisanlang, after killing Yan Shen Du, suddenly disappeared without a trace, and he didn't know where he had gone.

Fan Xian was calculating in his heart while leaving the palace, and then, unsurprisingly, he saw the First Prince, the only military strongman among the royal family, beside him.

"What did you say to Yan Xiaoyi?" The First Prince asked in a low voice beside him.

"His son died and he's biting people indiscriminately." Fan Xian responded with a smile: "He said he wanted to kill me."

The First Prince frowned and said with slight anger: "What arrogant tone! He doesn't even look at where this is."

Fan Xian thought for a little while, then said seriously to the First Prince: "Yan Xiaoyi's rebellious intentions are set. I don't think His Majesty can't see it, but you must be careful."

The First Prince was slightly stunned, thinking, where did this rebellion come from?

Fan Xian got into the carriage and headed towards his residence, but he was still thinking about this issue along the way. His Majesty couldn't possibly not see Yan Xiaoyi's surging battle intent and killing intent, so why did he still let the tiger return to the mountain instead of keeping him imprisoned in Kyoto?

A very interesting question.

He laughed self-deprecatingly in his heart. He didn't know how long from now, when Yan Xiaoyi came to kill him, or when he killed Yan Xiaoyi, this world would definitely have become very interesting, and the mahjong game that His Majesty was playing would probably be on the eve of winning.

—————————————————————

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Qing Yu Nian's capital city had no snow and no wind. After nightfall, the entire city was decorated with colorful lanterns, and pedestrians thronged the dry streets. Men and women used the illumination of the beautiful lights to search for faces that moved their hearts and avoid harassment that disgusted them. Young ladies, accompanied by their maids, wandered around with flushed faces, while well-mannered young men kept a distance, watching them play quietly.

On this night, spring arrived early. It was unknown how many shoes were lost on the street, and how many tender skins were touched by those hands. Following and reconnaissance, eye movements and tentative approaches, were carried out happily in the night. People controlled by hormones collectively fell into a blind date activity without matchmakers.

As far as the Qing Yu Nian Dynasty was concerned, the joy of the common people could not affect its solemnity. Although the corner towers of the imperial palace were also hung with large palace lanterns, and some riddles and other small things were prepared in the palace for the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the nobles to enjoy, even the Supervision Department, with its square, black, gray, and solemn building, was decorated with red lanterns at Fan Xian's instruction.

But it was still solemn.

Because the military mobilization had already begun before the fifteenth day, the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Expedition led his personal troops back north to the Cangzhou Yanjing line to resist the sharp gaze of that famous general of Northern Qi. Ye Zhong also returned to Dingzhou. The imperial court once again increased its troops to the west, drawing elites from the remaining five central armies to supplement the Dingzhou area, forming an invincible army of as many as 100,000 men.

When spring first arrived, these 100,000 heroic soldiers would advance another two hundred miles to the west, nominally to suppress the area, but if the Western Hu and those Northern barbarians who had marched south for thousands of miles showed any signs of moving, these invincible Qing Yu Nian soldiers would seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, tearing off large pieces of flesh and blood from the Hu people.

Military affairs were of great importance. Although it was just a mobilization and not yet a war, the Six Ministries had already been busy dealing with logistical matters. Fortunately, Qing Yu Nian had risen to power through military force, and all matters had long been set as a routine. The cooperation between the ministries was orderly and efficient.

When it came to foreign affairs, Qing Yu Nian was always so united. At this moment, no one remembered the infighting between the princes or the fearsomeness of Fan Xian.

Fan Xian had also been busy for several days, because the Supervision Department was responsible for providing intelligence to the military and for reviewing the equipment and weapons sent up by various departments. All kinds of matters piled up all at once.

Fortunately, Yan Bingyun was helping, so on the night of the fifteenth day, Fan Xian was able to enter the palace and take a look at the legendary martial arts conference. The duels in the palace were indeed wonderful, and there were indeed many experts in Qing Yu Nian... but without the life-and-death fight between Yan Xiaoyi and Fan Xian, the ministers didn't seem to be very interested.

And no one was foolish enough to take the initiative to invite Fan Xian to a battle, because they were not Yan Xiaoyi, and they didn't want to die.

……

……

On the twenty-second day of the first lunar month, the nerves of the court and the palace, which had been tense due to the border movements, had gradually become accustomed to it and relaxed. Life had to go on, and when it was time to eat, they had to eat, and when it was time to dress, they had to dress. They couldn't possibly let the nobles in the palace not have a few new clothes during the New Year's holiday.

Therefore, the palace embroidery bureau sent a team to a certain business to take over the embroidered cloth that had been transported from the West, because the Empress of the Eastern Palace did not like the embroidered colors that Jiangnan had contributed last year, so she had requested in advance to order another batch.

Extra errands like this that did not go through the internal treasury and palace lines were often a good opportunity for the presiding eunuch to make a lot of money. The rebates and tributes alone were probably worth three-tenths of the price of the embroidered cloth. A trip out of the palace could easily bring in thousands of taels of silver notes into one's sleeves.

In previous years, because the Second Prince was favored, this errand was handled by Eunuch Dai from the Palace of the Consort Shu. But this year, the Second Prince's favor had clearly waned, and Eunuch Dai had been deprived of most of his power due to his involvement in the bribery and Suspended Temple assassination cases. Therefore, the great eunuchs in the palace began to become envious and began to move around, wanting to take over the old Dai's position.

However, after just inquiring about the news, the great eunuchs, including Eunuch Yao and Eunuch Hou, stopped their activities, because they heard that this year, the leader of the Eastern Palace eunuchs, Hong Zhu, was in charge.

Hong Zhu's surname was Hong, and he had the deep trust of the Empress. In addition, His Majesty seemed to like this flexible little eunuch very much, so his position in the palace was rising day by day. Even people like Eunuch Yao were unwilling to stand in the way of Hong Zhu's gradual brilliance, so they chose to step aside.

On this morning, the inner guards stood guard outside a large shop, but they kept yawning, because they believed that no one would come looking for trouble. There were no princes or nobles in the shop, only an eunuch... Every time they thought that these strong warriors of theirs could not follow the army to the west to Dingzhou, but had to protect a mere eunuch, the guards felt unhappy, and their vigilance naturally relaxed a lot.

……

……

In a quiet room on the second floor, Hong Zhu was carefully examining the thread count and color halo of the embroidered cloth. Although it was a good opportunity to make a rebate, he still had to put his heart into serving the Empress. As for the owner of this Eastern Yi merchant shop, he had already been kicked out.

Hong Zhu's fingertips trembled slightly, obviously a little uneasy in his heart, because he didn't know when exactly, and how could the little Fan Lord hide from the eyes and ears of the guards, and meet him.

Just when he was feeling extremely uncomfortable, the light in the room suddenly refracted, and the light and shadow produced some very subtle changes.

"Who?" Hong Zhu turned around vigilantly, but didn't shout out this question.

Wearing a commoner's clothes, Fan Xian rubbed the corner of his eyebrow, which was painfully stuck after the disguise, gave Hong Zhu a hand gesture, and then took out a jade pendant from his arms and handed it over.

This jade pendant was the one he had obtained from the Luochuan Gang after thinking of many ways some time ago.

Hong Zhu took the jade pendant with some puzzlement, looked at it, and felt that this jade pendant looked very unfamiliar, but it seemed to be a palace item, and this style and jade pattern always gave him a familiar feeling.

"This is from the Eastern Palace." Fan Xian said softly.

Hong Zhu pursed his lips and said, "What do you want me to do?"

Fan Xian said a date and frowned, "The Crown Prince goes to Guangxin Palace every time, it should be this date. You have a lot of information in the palace, see if it's accurate."

Hong Zhu recalled for a moment, calculated it again, and then nodded.

Fan Xian felt relieved. This date was the conclusion that Wang Qinian had drawn after squatting in front of that clan mansion every day these days. That clan mansion was responsible for sending medicine to the palace, and the dates were basically stable.

Fan Xian stared into Hong Zhu's eyes and said, "After the embroidered cloth enters the palace, according to the usual practice, the Eastern Palace will distribute it to various palaces. You should know what time the Empress has the palace maids send the embroidered cloth to Guangxin Palace."

"Usually in the afternoon of the second day." Hong Zhu was a little nervous, and didn't know what this matter had to do with the embroidered cloth.

"Very good, you're in charge of purchasing, so delay the time for this batch of embroidered cloth to enter the palace." Fan Xian said, "Calculate the time well, and make sure that when the Eastern Palace bestows embroidered cloth to Guangxin Palace, the Crown Prince is also in Guangxin Palace."

Hong Zhu scratched the itchy small pimple on his face and asked doubtfully, "What's the use of this?"

Fan Xian didn't answer. Hong Zhu looked at the jade pendant in his hand thoughtfully, and suddenly said in surprise: "This... seems to be something the Empress used to use."

"That's right." Fan Xian instructed seriously: "It was secretly sold out of the palace by those little eunuchs under your command."

"These little bastards have such great courage!" Hong Zhu completely forgot the situation at this time, and subconsciously returned to the role of the leader of the Eastern Palace eunuchs, saying fiercely. He was a great eunuch and had many ways to make money, so naturally he didn't need to use these petty tricks.

Then he suddenly woke up, knowing that the little Fan Lord would never just let him rectify the order of the Eastern Palace so simply. He looked at Fan Xian's smiling face and asked in a trembling voice: "This jade pendant... how should it be handled?"

"Put it in the room of the palace maid who sent the embroidered cloth to Guangxin Palace." Fan Xian thought for a moment and sighed: "The next thing to do is very simple, you let the Empress think of this jade pendant, and then what will happen?"

Hong Zhu was a smart person and immediately understood, but he still didn't connect the whole thing with Guangxin Palace.

But Fan Xian didn't have more time to explain. Hearing the footsteps coming from downstairs, he leaned close to Hong Zhu's ear and told him a few words, telling him that he didn't need to care about anything, he just needed to do these three things well, and not to have any extra actions. He had to pay attention to his own safety and not get involved.

There was a knock on the door. Fan Xian flashed and disappeared from the room.

The owner of the shop came in respectfully, asking if the eunuch had any other instructions.

Hong Zhu looked at the empty space beside him and suddenly felt a little lost. After a moment, he thought of Fan Xian's instructions, frowned, and squeezed out a shrill voice: "This cloth... seems to be different from what the Empress specified."

The owner was stunned and complained in his heart, saying: "Eunuch, what are you saying... how dare a small businessman like me deceive the nobles in the palace."

While speaking, several silver notes were stuffed hard into Hong Zhu's sleeves.

Hong Zhu glanced at it, somewhat satisfied with the amount, but still couldn't let go. He frowned and said, "Is there a problem with the Huangdan in this color? It looks a little off... Especially the thread used for these few pieces of satin, it just doesn't feel thick enough."

"How could there be?" The owner cursed in his heart and said with a bitter face: "This is genuine Western cloth, three-layer blended thirty-six stitches, there is no better."

Hong Zhu chuckled and said, "Is that so? But don't worry, you can go back and check it carefully. I'll come back to get it in a few days."

The owner was anxious and said, "Eunuch, this is what the Empress of the palace is anxious to get. If it's delayed, not only me, I'm afraid even you..."

Hong Zhu was unhappy to hear this, glared his eyes, and said gloomily: "You listen clearly, when the palace wants this cloth, it depends on when I'm happy... What is the Empress's status, how could she remember these little things!"

After saying these words, Hong Zhu flicked his sleeves and went downstairs, his face very unkind.

The shop owner followed behind, only saying that he had offended this great eunuch, and complained repeatedly in his heart, thinking how many silver notes he would have to stuff into this eunuch's hands if it was delayed for a few days. How would he know that Hong Zhu's face was unkind because... he was afraid and excited in his heart.

Hong Zhu knew what he and the little Fan Lord were doing, and he also knew that a mere little eunuch like him might also change the original face of Qing Yu Nian's history. His heart was not that of an eunuch, but that of a scholar. The thing that scholars wanted to do most was to govern the country and bring peace to the world. And today, Hong Zhu finally felt that as an eunuch, he could actually change this world.