(Last night, the largest rainstorm in the past decade hit this city. It was quite a sight, and I only hope there won't be any disasters. This chapter today is lighthearted but also important. In the next volume, I'll be asking everyone to look back at this chapter. ps: Today is the day of the National College Entrance Examination. I wish all the students taking the exam all the best.)

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Seagulls cried along the coast, and the gentle lapping of water could be heard beneath the pier. In the distance, the roaring of the waves crashing against the cliffs echoed intermittently. Fan Xian stood on the wooden planks, unswayed by the Emperor's impassioned words. He said seriously, "The Emperor, the most esteemed person in the land, should not venture into dangerous places. Your subject urges Your Majesty to return to the capital."

"With the Empress Dowager in the capital, and with Chen Pingping and the two Grand Secretaries, who dares to act rashly!" The Emperor waved his hand impatiently, gazing at the sea. "To seize the throne, one must seize that chair. The first step is to kill the one sitting on it... If they can't kill me, let them make noise. Useless rebels won't succeed even in ten years."

Fan Xian remained silent, thinking that this Emperor was truly a strange creature. Boundless confidence mixed with intense paranoia had created a narcissist to the extreme... The Emperor wanted to lure the snakes out of their holes, and he might die because of his narcissism one day. The problem was that he didn't want to be buried with him.

"Anzhi, you must know, it is very difficult to see a person's heart clearly."

The Emperor suddenly sighed with emotion, not knowing whether he was talking about his sons or his sister. After this rare expression of sentiment, a layer of fatigue seemed to settle over his face, and the wrinkles around his eyes revealed an unspeakable weariness.

This weariness was not the calculated fatigue he put on for his ministers in the imperial court, but a genuine weariness, a sense of exhaustion rising from the depths of his heart.

Fan Xian calmly studied the Emperor's face, countless thoughts flitting through his mind. This was the first time he had seen such a real and approachable expression on the Emperor's face.

However, this genuine emotional outpouring, like a cloud fleeting above the harbor in Danzhou, was just a momentary burst, blocking the blinding sunlight, then quickly dissipating into the cerulean sky. In an instant, no trace of it could be found on the Emperor's face.

What remained was the confidence and perseverance of the sun, radiating in all directions. The moment of vulnerability passed, and he immediately returned to the role of a monarch.

…

…

Watching this scene, Fan Xian couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy, sighing, "It is said that drawing a person is easy, but drawing their bones is difficult. Knowing their face is easy, but knowing their heart is not. They may be gentle and responsive on normal days, but who knows if one day they will pick up two straight knives and stab each other in the chest."

The Emperor clearly didn't care who Fan Xian was lamenting. He was just lost in thought, reminiscing about the past, surrounded by this mood. He gazed at the sea, his eyes slightly glazed over, and said softly, "The world may think I am a heartless person, an emotionless person, but they are wrong."

Fan Xian quietly watched the Emperor, not interrupting.

The Emperor slowly said, "I have given them too many chances, hoping they would come to their senses. Even now, I am still giving them chances. If I were not sentimental, why would I bother so much?"

Fan Xian thought to himself, the Emperor was testing their hearts by enticing and forcing them to make mistakes. Looking at the太子 (tàizǐ, Crown Prince) and the Second Prince's struggles over the years, was the Emperor acting out of sentimentality or was he simply sick?

"Like your mother..." The Emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, as if the sun peeking through the clouds was too dazzling.

Fan Xian's heart tightened slightly, carefully listening to every word the Emperor said.

The Emperor glanced at him, then turned his face away and said softly, "She performed unprecedented achievements for Qing Yu Nian, and for me, she was… her kindness was greater than the heavens. However, after a sudden change, she and her Ye family became history, dying miserably… Yet I remained silent. Although there was some compensation later, compared to her kindness, I have done very little."

Fan Xian understood what he meant. After his mother's death, the Emperor waited four years before arresting all the nobles and dignitaries in the capital involved in the matter, but… he left out several important figures. If this was revenge, it was not thorough enough.

The Emperor said softly, "I have not said it, and they have not asked. But I know that there is some resentment in their hearts, they resent me…" A self-deprecating smile suddenly appeared on his lips. "But what can I do about this matter? Should I remain silent, confiscate the Ye family's assets into the national treasury, and brand the Ye family as traitors? That would be heartless. But to overturn the Ye family's verdict, how would the Empress Dowager reconcile with herself? Or… must I depose and kill the Empress to be truly sentimental and righteous?"

Strangely, even when talking about this, the Emperor's tone remained calm, without a trace of excitement, which Fan Xian found admirable. He knew, of course, that "they" who harbored resentment were referring to his father, Fan Jian, and the Dean of the Surveillance Council, Chen Pingping.

"As an Emperor, I cannot wander freely without restraint…" The Emperor said calmly, "If I really did that, I would still be a heartless person, and what would the entire court become? I think if she were alive, she would agree with my approach."

"She wanted a strong and prosperous Qing Yu Nian, and I have achieved that." A look of determination appeared on the Emperor's face. "Looking around the world, Qing Yu Nian is the strongest country in the world. The people of Qing Yu Nian live more happily than in any year in history. I think this alone is enough to comfort her heart."

Fan Xian was silent. In the years after his rebirth, he often asked himself what kind of country Qing Yu Nian was, and what kind of person the Emperor was. Although he had gained a deeper understanding of all this after entering the capital and finally touched the Emperor's confident, narcissistic, arrogant, and self-abusive heart… he had to admit that even with the great flood the year before and the snow disaster this year, the efficiency of the Qing Yu Nian bureaucratic system, the wealth of the people, and the integrity of the government were many times better than anything he had seen in the history books of his previous life.

In other words, Qing Yu Nian was undoubtedly a time of great peace, even a golden age. The Emperor beside him was undoubtedly a wise ruler, even a sage king—if the standard for an Emperor was only to feed the people.

"She said that court officials needed supervision. Fine, when I was still the太子 (tàizǐ, Crown Prince), I advised my father to establish the Surveillance Council."

"She said that eunuchs were both pitiful and hateful, so I have strictly adhered to the rules since the founding of the country, strictly prohibiting eunuchs from interfering in politics, while also ordering the Inner Court Taichang Temple to determine the number of eunuchs, trying to reduce the number of deformed people in the palace."

Fan Xian nodded repeatedly. The number of eunuchs in the Qing Yu Nian palace was much smaller than in Northern Qi, which was undoubtedly a virtuous policy.

"She said that a wise ruler should be able to listen to advice. Fine, I granted the censors of the Censorate the power to speak freely about any matter they heard of."

The Emperor spoke faster and became more engrossed, while Fan Xian couldn't help but bite the tender flesh inside his lips, reminding himself not to laugh when he thought about the censors in the court being beaten into bloody pulps on their buttocks with flails…

…

…

"She said to reform, to eradicate the root of corruption. Fine, I followed her advice. I changed the reign title, changed the system, and implemented new policies…"

Fan Xian finally couldn't help but smile wryly.

The reign title was changed to Qingli in the first year of Qingli, and the reform at that time was actually the third new policy. The Ministry of War was changed to the Department of the Army, and then to the current Privy Council. Tongwen Pavilion was separated from the Imperial College, then changed to the Education Institute and changed back. Even the six ministries that had existed since ancient times were almost renamed by this Emperor.

The Qing Yu Nian Emperor's life was full of dazzling achievements, but the three new policies were the most difficult things to avoid in his life. Even today, the people of the capital are still confused when it comes to these government offices, and they often have to report several names whenever they go somewhere.

Such a chaotic new policy, if not for the powerful deterrent of imperial power and the strong execution of Qing Yu Nian officials, who twisted the court back to its original form, leaving only those discordant names… Qing Yu Nian would have been in chaos long ago.

The Emperor saw his expression and smiled self-deprecatingly, "Don't hide it. I know these were some of the few times I was muddled in my life… It's just that your mother was no longer around at that time, and I only knew a general idea, so it's inevitable that I made some mistakes."

Fan Xian's heart stirred slightly, thinking that even after his mother's death, the Emperor still acted according to her words. From this intention alone, he had to say that the Emperor was still a sentimental person in this matter.

"Before your mother left, I listened to her a lot, but afterwards, I couldn't do anything for her…" The Emperor closed his eyes and said softly, "So after she left, I kept in mind all the things she had mentioned to me in the past, wanting to realize them for her, which can be regarded as… some kind of promise or guilt towards her."

Fan Xian sighed and said, "If my mother were still alive, she would definitely be overwhelmed with gratitude and admiration for Your Majesty."

"No, not gratitude." The Emperor opened his eyes and said calmly, "Just affection and righteousness. As for admiration, that is even more impossible. I just want to do something to comfort her spirit in heaven, and I don't ask for anything else."

The Emperor suddenly laughed and said, "She once mentioned the thing called 'newspaper' with a very regretful tone, saying that there was no gossip to read, no scandalous news to read… So I had the Inner Court publish a newspaper, drawing some scandalous content on it. Thinking about it now, I was also being ridiculously foolish."

Fan Xian was dumbfounded. The Inner Court Newspaper was known as the most useless thing in Qing Yu Nian. It was personally inscribed by the Grand Secretary and great calligrapher Pan Ling, and sent to various regions, prefectures, and counties. It was only kept by government offices and dignitaries. If it were on the market, one Inner Court Newspaper would often sell for a lot of silver.

When he was in Danzhou, he had stolen the newspaper from the old house to exchange for silver. He was naturally very familiar with the newspaper. At that time, he was very disdainful of the so-called "gossip" content on the newspaper and very puzzled by the lace drawn on the edges of the newspaper. And the answer to all of this was actually…

His mother wanted to read gossip newspapers and hear scandalous news!

Fan Xian looked at the Emperor with a strange expression, forcefully suppressing the words that were about to blurt out. He wanted to remind the Emperor that "scandalous news" did not mean drawing some lace on the edges of the newspaper.

The Emperor did not notice his expression and said more and more happily, "Your mother was most curious about Chen Pingping's story, so in the fourth year of Qingli, when that old dog returned to his hometown to visit his relatives, I had the Inner Court Newspaper write about it well. If your mother could see it, she would probably be happy too."

Fan Xian laughed heartily. He also remembered this story. In the spring of the fourth year of Qingli, he went from Danzhou to the capital. At that time, the two biggest things in the capital were the exposure of Prime Minister Lin Ruofu's illegitimate daughter and her marriage to the Fan family, and the second was that the editors of the Inner Court Newspaper, regardless of the Surveillance Council's power, exposed the young and inexperienced stories of Chen Pingping, the Dean of the Surveillance Council.

The sun on the coast gradually rose, moving from in front to behind, casting the shadows of the Emperor and Fan Xian onto the undulating sea surface. The seawater also joined in the fun, reducing the waves slightly, gradually reflecting like a calm mirror, making the two blurry shadows clearer and clearer.

Fan Xian smiled and lowered his head, thinking that the Emperor was ultimately a mortal. Just as he would never forget the Qing Temple, the Emperor would never forget Danzhou. Perhaps in this life, only on the docks of Danzhou would the Emperor say so many words.

And it was this non-courtly conversation that made Fan Xian have a little more fondness for the Emperor, a deeper understanding, and also more worries.

He sighed, casting his gaze on the sea, saying that the worries in his heart were ultimately things of the future, and the worries in front of him were terrible enough.

"What are you worried about?" The Emperor was in a relatively good mood and asked casually.

Fan Xian considered for a long time before saying, "The Jiaozhou Naval Admiral… is a member of the Qin family."

The Emperor's official tour, it was not known how much pomp it would require. Even though the Qing Yu Nian Emperor was known for his simplicity, the imperial court had put a lot of effort into defense. On land, the state armies were on the outside, the imperial guards were on the inside, plus a group of experts and the old monster Hong Gonggong, forming what could be called an iron fortress.

On the waterway, several battleships of the Jiaozhou Navy also arrived at the order, responsible for guarding against dangers from the sea. When Fan Xian said these words, his eyes were narrowed, staring at the sea surface, staring at the ships sent by the Jiaozhou Navy to protect the Emperor.

The Emperor's expression was calm, seemingly not taking Fan Xian's reminder to heart. He said, "One day I will seek justice for you for the Mountain Valley matter. However, General Qin is a pillar of the nation, do not be suspicious. Since you have transferred the Black Riders over here, you don't have to worry about raids within a hundred miles. Why be uneasy all day like a stray dog."

Fan Xian then remembered that another identity of the Emperor that had not been used for a long time was that of a leading general. He smiled and accepted the order, no longer saying anything more.