Yuan Hongdao struggled to wake up, a sharp pain throbbing in the back of his head. He was unsure of his surroundings. His years spent infiltrating enemy forces had instilled in him a habit of constant silence.

Like Wang Qinian, this official of the Supervisory Council held countless doubts in his heart. Half a year ago, when His Majesty first moved against the Eldest Princess, Yuan Hongdao wasn't privy to the reasons. However, the Supervisory Council's ability to sweep away all of the Eldest Princess's overt forces within half an hour was thanks to this so-called "First Strategist of Xinyang."

What had puzzled Yuan Hongdao for the past six months was this: after that operation, he should have been released from his undercover life. According to the Council's regulations, he should have chosen a scenic place to retire honorably. Yet, after escaping from the villa, Yan Ruohai instructed him to return to Xinyang in that small courtyard.

Return to Xinyang!

The Eldest Princess's strategist in Xinyang had narrowly escaped the Supervisory Council's pursuit and should have, logically, returned to Xinyang. However, Yuan Hongdao sensed something else in the Supervisory Council's orders.

If the Eldest Princess was destined to fall after that night of thunderstorms and be imprisoned for life, why would Director Chen still order him to return to Xinyang?

What... was the court thinking? What was he supposed to do back in Xinyang? Yuan Hongdao had pondered this question for months. When the Eldest Princess smoothly relayed her plans to Xinyang through the villa's guards and gradually transferred her Xinyang base to the capital, he finally understood something.

The Supervisory Council knew from the beginning of the operation that the Eldest Princess could not be completely defeated. Or rather, His Majesty had never intended to completely strip the Eldest Princess of the ability to recover. That was why he allowed this nail to remain in Xinyang, waiting for the Eldest Princess's summons, waiting for that moment to arrive.

Very well, His Majesty had gone to Mount Da Dong and been assassinated. Chaos had erupted in the capital, the Crown Prince was about to ascend the throne, and the Eldest Princess was in contact with the military, preparing to rebel... Even if the Eldest Princess had not informed Yuan Hongdao when she was plotting the Mount Da Dong scheme, Yuan Hongdao had personally participated in these later events and knew the news from the beginning of the Eldest Princess's schemes.

It seemed he should be putting his skills as the Qing Kingdom's top spy to use. But at this moment, Yuan Hongdao was horrified to discover that he couldn't relay any information, couldn't notify the Supervisory Council!

All channels had failed in an instant. The bridge of single-line communication had been mysteriously cut off. Yuan Hongdao couldn't contact Yan Ruohai, let alone Chen Pingping. And a spy of his level couldn't just rush into the Supervisory Council and shout.

So, he maintained a calm demeanor, but his heart was filled with fear and unease. He didn't know what had happened within the Supervisory Council. This state of unease continued until Fan Xian finally stormed the palace and began using his forces to sweep away the opposition in the capital.

Yuan Hongdao secretly cooperated with the Supervisory Council's actions, allowing the Eldest Princess's temporary imperial villa to be seized. However, he knew that Fan Xian had made a fatal mistake. So, at that final moment, he risked everything to shout to that Supervisory Council official.

He didn't trust anyone. But if he had to compare, since he couldn't contact Chen Pingping and Yan Ruohai, the person he trusted most in the entire court was Chen Pingping's successor, that young Lord Fan.

Unfortunately, he didn't know what kind of hothead Mu Feng'er was. So, he was miserably punched to the ground.

...

...

Yuan Hongdao calmed his breathing, opened his eyes, and found himself in the corner tower above the Imperial City. Before him, a handsome young man was looking at him with a worried expression. He knew this man's identity. Although he didn't know why he was personally interrogating him at such a tense moment, he said directly:

"Zhang Fang is the Eldest Princess's man."

Fan Xian nodded without saying anything. Zhang Fang, *zi* Deqing, the Commander of the Thirteen City Gates, a man thought to be morally upright and loyal, was actually the Eldest Princess's man. This fact was enough to shock everyone, but it couldn't add much more to the already helpless state of his mind.

Yan Bingyun hadn't returned. The official in the courtyard responsible for keeping watch hadn't returned. There must be a problem at the City Gates.

Unfortunately, this man named Yuan Hongdao had woken up too late.

Fan Xian sighed inwardly. Dawn was approaching. The Kyoto City Gates had fallen. The Ye and Qin families' armies were about to enter the city. At this critical moment, he shouldn't have thought about this man named Yuan Hongdao. But looking at those ministers resting in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he was filled with helplessness and suddenly recalled what his father-in-law had once said to him in Wuzhou.

The treacherous Prime Minister Lin Ruofu feared three people in the court in his life. Besides Chen Pingping and Fan Jian, it was the old Lord Qin leading the army. This powerful Prime Minister had seriously told Fan Xian that he wouldn't give his disciples and trump cards in the court to Fan Xian, lest a tree stand out too much in the forest and be toppled by strong winds.

Unless... it was when the new Emperor ascended the throne.

Now that Emperor Qing had died, Fan Xian was in Kyoto helping the Third Prince seize the throne. That was why those Lin faction civil officials in Kyoto had torn off their disguises and stood behind Fan Xian, following the two Grand Secretaries Hu and Shu to prevent the Crown Prince from ascending the throne.

Fan Xian thought to himself that his father-in-law was wise and calculated the timing extremely accurately. He just didn't know if it would succeed this time.

However, Lin Prime Minister's last sentence had always been clear in Fan Xian's mind.

"If Kyoto really descends into chaos in the future, perhaps Yuan Hongdao can help you."

Lin Ruofu had predicted the events of Mount Da Dong a year in advance. Fan Xian admired his father-in-law's vision immensely, so he hadn't forgotten this advice. When he found himself in an inextricable crisis, he immediately thought of the First Strategist of Xinyang under the Eldest Princess.

Sure enough, he was right. This Mr. Yuan was actually a nail that the Supervisory Council had planted in Xinyang! This fact shocked Fan Xian and immediately troubled him. If he had known about the problem at the City Gates earlier, why would he and the First Prince be so passive? It was still too late in the end. It was still a matter of fate. He didn't know how long his good luck could last.

Yuan Hongdao stared into Fan Xian's eyes and said, "Why couldn't I contact the Council all this time?" Although his tone was calm, it contained endless anger, without the usual carefree demeanor of Mr. Yuan. He possessed valuable intelligence about the Eldest Princess's side but couldn't provide it to the Supervisory Council and the court. His loyalty to the Qing Kingdom and His Majesty made Mr. Yuan feel an immense strangeness, which led to anger.

Fan Xian was silent and didn't know what to say. If possible, he would also like to personally ask Chen Pingping at this moment.

The morning wind blew into the high corner tower of the Imperial City, gradually dissipating the bloody smell of last night. The burnt smell from the residential houses in Kyoto was also barely noticeable. Only those pitiful people still didn't dare to go out, closing their doors in terror, hiding in their beds, and praying that these games of slaughter between the great figures could end soon.

Wuwuwuwu… bugles sounded repeatedly above the Imperial City, their voices extremely powerful and resonant, able to carry to who knows how far.

Fan Xian stood beside Yuan Hongdao, his expression calm, and said, "The Kyoto Garrison can only enter the capital by noon. The Qin and Ye families will take another three days. If we act quickly, we can still recapture the nine city gates."

A flash of astonishment crossed Yuan Hongdao's eyes, which then ignited with flames of anger. He angrily said, "Does the Council have no one in the Garrison!"

Fan Xian's heart jumped. He suddenly turned to look at him.

Yuan Hongdao looked at him and said, word by word, "The Qin family's army is marching overnight, and it's feared that they are not far from Kyoto..."

Fan Xian tightly pursed his lips, his face turning pale.

The reason he didn't panic after learning about the City Gates' betrayal was that he believed he could clearly understand the movements of the Old Qin family. As long as the army hadn't arrived, he still had time to regain control of the nine city gates with the help of the more powerful Imperial Guards and the Supervisory Council's lethality.

The Qin family's army was about to arrive immediately?

Yan Bingyun's father was in the Qin family. How could he not have sent back the news that the army was marching!

...

...

Fan Xian walked to the First Prince's side and said, "Withdraw the troops back to the palace. The Qin family's army is coming."

The First Prince's brows were furrowed tightly. The Imperial Guards had just marched out of the Imperial City, but now they had to withdraw because of news that he couldn't possibly believe. But he knew that the most important thing at this time was the speed of reaction. Not having time to discuss anything with Fan Xian, he took a deep breath and had the personal guard beside him wave the small yellow flag in his hand.

As the yellow flag turned, the bugles above the Imperial City sounded again, wuwuwuwu… The rhythm gradually rose and tightened. The Imperial Guard troops, who were rapidly marching out of the Imperial City like several azure dragons, suddenly heard the sound of the bugles returning to camp, and simultaneously contracted their formations, beginning to retreat towards the direction of the Imperial Palace. And the troops that had already deeply entered the residential streets in the distance also began to move.

Fan Xian made a gesture to his subordinate beside him. The subordinate nodded, took out an arrow with a command attached from his sleeve, and fired it. It created a piercing sound in the air in front of the Imperial City.

Immediately afterward, at the Privy Council, at the Supervisory Council headquarters, at various government offices, and at various crucial street intersections, the sound of command arrows breaking through the air rang out, as if in response.

When the command arrows landed, nearly two thousand Supervisory Council secret agents and officials in Kyoto moved upon hearing the command and disappeared into the streets and alleys.

Soon, there were no more figures to be seen on the streets of Kyoto. Especially on the Heavenly River Avenue, which ran directly from the Supervisory Council and the Privy Council to the Imperial Palace, it was even more desolate and chilling. Only a few leaves, still somewhat green, were tightly blown down by the autumn wind of the night, rolling across the empty street.

"Regardless of how the Crown Prince knew about the attack on the palace and escaped," Fan Xian stood beside the First Prince and said, "The Eldest Princess leaving the palace clearly shows she was prepared. She guessed what we would do long ago."

The First Prince's brows were furrowed tightly as he looked down at the movements of the entire capital, analyzing which direction the army should enter if it entered the city and what he should do next.

"All of our forces killed their way in for the attack on the palace... but she is commanding the armies of the Ye and Qin families to enter leisurely from the City Gates that we can't control," Fan Xian said calmly. "She gave us the palace and then surrounded the palace to play... Wouldn't that count as 'inviting the tiger into the mountain'?"

"I originally wanted to bloom from the inside out, setting fire to all sides, but I didn't expect this fire to not burn her. Instead, she used a layer of gauze to bind my flower."

Fan Xian's palm gently patted the solid bluestone bricks of the Imperial City and said quietly, "We still underestimated this aunt after all."

The Eldest Princess knew where Fan Xian and the Supervisory Council's advantages lay, so she willingly retreated, allowing Fan Xian to storm into the palace, seemingly taking control of everything.

But now in the palace were the Empress Dowager, the Third Prince, Consort Yi, Concubine Ning, countless noble consorts, the two Grand Secretaries Hu and Shu, and countless civil officials and subordinates loyal to Fan Xian.

These people were strength, but also a burden. If Fan Xian had wings, then these people whom the Eldest Princess had deliberately left in the palace were like iron hammers on Fan Xian's wings, preventing him from soaring freely.

An army surrounding the city might not be able to trap a terrifying nighttime expert like Fan Xian. But now, you shoulder the Qing Kingdom's heritage, the lives of countless people in the palace. How can Fan Xian escape? Can you bear to escape?

...

...

The First Prince was silent the whole time, occasionally issuing orders, starting to prepare for the Imperial City's defense, preparing all kinds of equipment, not having extra time to chat with Fan Xian at this moment, because he knew what kind of terrible crisis he was about to face.

Fan Xian blankly looked at everything in Kyoto, seeming to see Li Yunrui's extremely beautiful face, looking at him with a delicate gaze, gently saying, "My good son-in-law, I have prepared many things for you."

He spat towards the Imperial Palace, as if spitting on the other party's face, but he had to admit that his mother-in-law was indeed much stronger than him in these aspects. However, Fan Xian thought in his heart that if it weren't for those extremely strange reasons, he wouldn't have been trapped in the Imperial City at this time.

"How long can we hold out?" he asked the First Prince.

The First Prince's expression was solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "The Imperial City walls are high. If the Ye and Qin families launch a surprise attack overnight without carrying large siege equipment, I can hold out until the very last moment."

As the Grand Marshal of the Western Expedition Army, the First Prince had experienced countless bloody battles in his life, so he wasn't panicked in the slightest when facing an army approaching the capital. But the phrase "the very last moment" already explained everything.

"Since Li Yunrui had this plan long ago, the Ye and Qin families wouldn't be unprepared," Fan Xian said in a low voice. "I only hope you can hold out for a few more days. Leading the army and fighting can only rely on you."

"Hold out until the messengers notify the garrisons in various places and the six regional governors to come to support us?" The First Prince glanced at him and said unceremoniously, "Give up on that idea. Those messengers are unlikely to still be alive."

Fan Xian sighed in his heart and thought, "It's not those people I'm waiting for."

...

...

(I had a stomach ache all night last night, tossing and turning in bed. After getting up today, my mind is completely muddled.)