The imperial carriage arrived slowly and stopped smoothly on the official road. Due to the panic caused by the war, the official road was not paved with yellow earth or sprinkled with clear water today. However, the Emperor's feet did not hesitate at all, and he stepped firmly and steadily from the bright steps, stepping on the land surrounding Kyoto.

The Emperor removed his hand from Eunuch Yao's elbow, and his calm gaze slowly swept across the surroundings. Thousands of officials and soldiers knelt on the ground, worshiping him. His expression was indifferent, and there wasn't much emotion in his eyes.

Amidst the earth-shattering cries of "Long live the Emperor," the Emperor's gaze shifted from the distant Kyoto city walls to the near distance, passing over the two Grand Academicians, Hu and Shu, over the First Prince in full military attire, over his nervous and slightly joyful little son, and finally falling lightly on Fan Xian's handsome and compelling face, noticing the extremely heavy weariness on the young man's face.

The corners of the Emperor's lips curled slightly, with a hint of joy, as if he was growing increasingly fond of this beautiful face deep in his heart. However, his brows furrowed immediately, as he discovered that Fan Xian had suffered a not-insignificant internal injury.

With a flourish of the bright yellow dragon robe, the Emperor stretched out his arms flat, calmly and powerfully facing the wilderness in front of him. The cries of "Long live the Emperor" gradually subsided.

If no one dared to look at the Emperor, how would these thousands of people know the Emperor's actions?

From the moment he stepped out of the carriage, the Emperor's gaze had been basically fixed on Fan Xian. Fan Xian felt uncomfortable all over, but had to lower his head, unsure of how to react, only hearing the Emperor's footsteps gradually approaching his group after the cries of "Long live the Emperor."

As he approached Fan Xian, the Emperor suddenly changed direction, not looking at Fan Xian again. He solemnly helped Shu Wu and Grand Academician Hu up. He grasped Old Shu's shoulders with both hands, using a gentle but firm tone, and said, "The old Academician has suffered."

Shu Wu was startled, and his face showed trepidation. Grand Academician Hu also repeatedly said he dared not. The Emperor smiled, said nothing, and then helped up the First Prince, who had taken the lead in the defense of Kyoto and made great contributions.

The Emperor's mood was somewhat complicated towards this eldest son, whom he had never particularly liked, but his expression remained calm.

Next, the Emperor pulled up Li Chengping, gently stroking the head of his youngest son with his right hand, gazing at the loyal subjects around him, without saying a word.

Then, he turned and walked back towards the imperial carriage.

Everyone was stunned, wondering if this was the end? It wasn't that the ceremony of the Son of Heaven returning to the capital was incomplete, but rather... the most meritorious minister who protected the country, Duke Danbo Fan Xian, was still kneeling upright on the ground. Why didn't His Majesty show any sign of recognition?

Shu Wu and Grand Academician Hu exchanged glances, each seeing the other's bewilderment. Fan Xian was also somewhat confused, unsure if he should stand up.

"Get up, are you unable to stand up unless I help you?"

Just before boarding the imperial carriage, the Emperor tossed a light sentence into the crowd. Although the sentence was not directed at anyone, everyone knew that it was spoken to Fan Xian, and while seemingly indifferent, it actually contained a few hints of intimacy. As for the other hidden meanings in the words, only Fan Xian could understand. His Majesty had recognized his abilities and loyalty, and he would be able to stand in his own position in this court without needing the Emperor's support.

Fan Xian smiled wryly, stood up, looked down at the dirt on his knees. In theory, since His Majesty had not yet boarded the carriage, he, as a subject, should not tidy his appearance. However, an impulse from who knows where made his right hand flick at his knees, brushing away some dust.

This small movement didn't attract much attention, but it caused the Emperor, who was about to board the imperial carriage, to pause slightly. Then, everyone heard His Majesty's words.

"Anzhi, come up to the carriage."

The ministers began to gape again, looking at each other in astonishment. Earlier, the fact that His Majesty had not personally helped Fan Xian to his feet had led to some speculation. Who would have thought that His Majesty would then give Master Fan such an honor, allowing him to enter Kyoto in the imperial carriage with His Majesty? This was an honor that even the former Crown Prince had never enjoyed.

The gazes of the clever ministers towards Fan Xian became fervent. However, these ministers seemed too clever, or too self-clever. Some gazes involuntarily turned to the Third Prince, because everyone knew that the Crown Prince and the Second Prince would definitely not have a good end due to the rebellion. Initially, everyone thought that the future master of Qing's empire would be this young prince, but judging from His Majesty's attitude today...

The reason why these ministers were said to be self-clever was because they displayed an inappropriate attitude in an inappropriate place. The two Grand Academicians, Hu and Shu, kept their eyes on their noses and their minds on their hearts, as if they hadn't heard His Majesty's words at all. This was the difference between an excellent minister and an ordinary minister.

Fan Xian's mouth felt bitter, but he couldn't go against the imperial decree. He walked to the side of the tall imperial carriage, went up, lifted the yellow curtain, and stood before His Majesty. Although the imperial carriage was high, it still couldn't allow a person to stand straight, so he was forced to lower his head in front of the Emperor, like everyone else under heaven.

"Sit," the Emperor said, seemingly seeing through his thoughts, nodding slightly.

Fan Xian obeyed and sat opposite the Emperor, looking at this Emperor Laozi, whom he hadn't seen in a month. His mood gradually became complicated. In previous years, this monarch also had an extremely brilliant and powerful side, but he was far less terrifying than the Emperor today. The Emperor remained calm, but he was like a bottomless abyss, containing unfathomable power. This feeling made Fan Xian feel a little frightened. Looking at those two sword-like eyebrows and those calm eyes, he involuntarily felt like retreating.

A monarch's kingly aura and dominance are not presented through his appearance and demeanor, but through the means and results presented in history books. To be able to return alive from Mount Da Dong, to be able to arrange such a grand scheme, such a powerful figure, truly worthy of being the number one person on the continent for thirty years. Fan Xian understood this fact and could only accept it.

The middle-aged man in the dragon robe lowered his head and looked at the various urgent memorials presented by the two Grand Academicians, ignoring Fan Xian's observation of him, even though such observation of the Emperor by a subject was extremely impolite and taboo.

The imperial carriage moved slowly, and the sunlight outside the window shone diagonally in, illuminating the memorials in the Emperor's hands. He lowered his head, frowned as he looked at these things, and suddenly said, "Three years, my Qing needs three more years."

When he said this, the Emperor didn't look up, as if he was talking to himself. Fan Xian knew what His Majesty meant. After experiencing internal rebellion, not to mention the serious damage to Kyoto and the chaotic court affairs, the attacks within the military alone had caused extremely serious consequences. The morale of the army was unstable at this time. In addition, many officials in the Dongshan Road area were implicated. Although His Majesty had selected good officials from Jiangnan to replace them, the impact on the people's livelihood would definitely be great.

It would take at least a year to rally the army's morale, at least a year to eliminate the psychological impact of this great turmoil, and at least three years for the Qing Kingdom to truly prepare for a large-scale war in terms of financial resources, materials, and popular support.

Presumably, in His Majesty's heart, this northern expedition to unify the world must be the last northern expedition. The historical pace, which had been forcibly stopped for more than twenty years by those two Grandmasters, was about to gradually accelerate.

The sunlight outside the car window shone in through the glass lattice, constantly brushing backward, casting countless glass-like sparkles on the faces of this father and son. The Emperor remained looking down, saying, "To dust off one’s clothes after the task is done, and conceal oneself in anonymity… this is a sentence you once wrote. But don't expect that I will let you go. To dust off one’s clothes, but the big task is not yet done. Why are you, a young man, in such a hurry to dust off and retreat?"

The Emperor's eyes were on the memorial, and these words seemed to be spoken unintentionally. Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat, unsure of what to say. To dust off one’s clothes after the task is done. He had not expected that his subconscious dusting of the dust in front of the imperial carriage would allow His Majesty to guess his thoughts, and so resolutely and ruthlessly dispel his illusions or psychological probing.

He smiled wryly, not daring to hide anything, and said directly, "I am really not good at fighting wars. It is better to honestly earn some money for the imperial court."

Fan Xian had other plans in his heart, so he preemptively made his words clear. Who knew that the Emperor would suddenly look up at him and say, "Don't even think about resigning. If you are still afraid of people's opinions, I will take the initiative to reduce your power."

Fan Xian cursed inwardly. The Emperor's words had pushed him into a dead corner. If he was really forced to stay in the Qing capital to plot, he certainly didn't want his power to be reduced. The Supervisory Council was the most powerful weapon in his hand. If His Majesty really opened the gap, what would he use to negotiate with this unfathomable Emperor?

Until now, he still didn't know the truth about Mount Da Dong, and he didn't dare to ask in the carriage at this time. Instead, the Emperor spoke first, inquiring about the specific situation in Kyoto these days. Although in these three days, the Kyoto direction had been constantly sending memorials to the location of the imperial carriage, because it involved the private affairs of the imperial family, many things could only be reported to the Emperor by Fan Xian himself.

Fan Xian's voice rang in the carriage. From the time he left Mount Da Dong, to the time he disguised himself as an oil merchant to enter Kyoto, to the later plan with the First Prince to raid the palace, to the final intervention of the Ye family, he spoke in a logical and clear manner, and deliberately downplayed certain details that the Emperor probably didn't want to hear.

While Fan Xian was reporting, the Emperor had already lowered his head again, so he dared to carefully pay attention to His Majesty's expression and reaction. To his surprise, neither the news of the Princess Royal's death nor the Second Prince's suicide caused the Emperor's stony face to tremble in the slightest. It was only when he reported the Empress Dowager's condition that the Emperor raised his head.

"How many days does the Empress Dowager have left?"

"The Imperial Hospital has examined her... The old lady is weak and frail, and has experienced such a major event, she was frightened, I'm afraid..." Fan Xian hesitated, with a trace of malicious thoughts in his heart towards the cold-blooded Emperor. The Empress Dowager was scared to death by you. What should you, this filial Emperor, do?

"The Imperial Hospital?" The Emperor frowned, looked at him coldly, and said, "What's the use of those wastes? You are in the palace, don't you know the details?"

Fan Xian said in a low voice, "Indeed, it is beyond human power to reverse the situation."

...

...

Under the gaze and guard of countless people, the Emperor's imperial carriage entered Kyoto, following the wide and straight Tianhe Avenue, and entered the imperial palace. The people along the way, who had just suffered from the war, forcibly suppressed the sadness or fear in their hearts, and joyfully welcomed the return of the Emperor, as if they had welcomed back the mainstay of their lives. From this, it could be seen that the Emperor's prestige and reputation among the people of Qing were as unbreakable as the imperial power itself.

At the main gate of the imperial palace, Fan Xian bent down and stepped back from the carriage. He exchanged a glance with the First Prince and shook his head, indicating that the Emperor's mood was okay and had not been affected by the successive deaths.

Fan Xian followed the carriage into the palace, looking at the square bright yellow curtain, he couldn't help but think of the Emperor's expression earlier, and a chill ran down his spine. Although the Princess Royal and the Second Prince were both the masterminds of the rebellion, they were, after all, the Emperor's own sister and biological son. Moreover, this rebellion now seemed to be obviously a trap deliberately constructed by the Emperor for the other party. However, upon learning of the deaths of his sister and sons, the Emperor was still so calm. This resolve, this... cold-bloodedness, really made him feel a little frightened.

The First Prince walked to his side and said in a deep voice, "Why did you come down?"

"Would I dare to ride all the way into the palace?" Fan Xian glanced at him and explained in a low voice, "His Majesty asked some questions in the carriage. You also know that those things are not convenient to announce in public."

It wasn't necessary to explain anything to the First Prince, but Fan Xian, looking at the gazes cast around him, knew what kind of public opinion would result from his following the imperial carriage into Kyoto. He subconsciously added this sentence. After adding it, he felt that speaking to the eldest in this way might have the opposite effect. He smiled wryly and said, "The carriage was too cold, I came down to stretch my muscles."

The First Prince laughed, patted him on the shoulder, and said nothing. The two brothers were actually forcing smiles at this time. They had guarded Kyoto and prevented the monarch of a country from becoming a wandering ghost in the land. Undoubtedly, they had made great contributions, made the greatest contribution. However, so many members of the imperial family had died, and they had used so many methods. Who knew what the Emperor was thinking in his heart.

...

...

The Emperor of Qing was not thinking anything. During the process of sweeping up the rebel army outside Kyoto, he had already learned about the deaths of Li Yunrui and Li Chengze from the emergency documents sent by Fan Xian. In the carriage, he only learned the specific circumstances of the two's deaths from Fan Xian's mouth.

He was completely calm, as if the dead were strangers. He continued to look at the memorials presented by the Ministry of Central Secretariat. However, when the imperial carriage entered the palace and Fan Xian got off, the Emperor put down the memorials in his hand, leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a long time.

The silence of being all alone continued for a long time. A trace of aging and haggardness gradually appeared on the Emperor's face. However, at this time, the carriage had already stopped at the entrance of the Hanguang Palace.

He sighed softly, slowly stepped out of the carriage curtain that Eunuch Yao had pulled up. As soon as he stepped out of the curtain, looking down at this familiar but unfamiliar palace, his face quickly became calm and solemn. There was no longer a trace of the loneliness he had when he was alone in the carriage. Every eyebrow and every look in his eyes conveyed his strength and power.

---------------------------------------

The Empress Dowager was wearing a plain white dress, lying on the warm and soft phoenix bed. The wrinkles on her face were so deep, as if, like this imperial palace, she had weathered too much wind and rain and been eroded into such a state.

The Emperor said a few words to the terrified imperial physicians kneeling on the ground, then sat down by the bed and placed his slender fingers on the Empress Dowager's wrist.

Fan Xian and his three brothers stood honestly behind the curtain, not daring to disturb. Fan Xian felt a faint tension in his heart, because it was vaguely visible that the Emperor's method of taking the pulse was very skilled, obviously he also had some understanding of medicine.

However, he had more confidence in Mr. Fei Jie's medicine. The most important thing was that the pill was not poison at all. Whether it was the chief physician of the Imperial Hospital or other brilliant doctors, they would probably not find the real reason why the Empress Dowager's vitality was gradually declining, and would directly attribute it to old age and frailty, and the approaching of fate.

The Emperor's slender fingers had left the Empress Dowager's faintly throbbing pulse, and he lowered his head in contemplation for a moment. A trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes. It seemed that this Grandmaster also knew that he couldn't stop his mother's departure. Then, his brows suddenly furrowed, and his finger shot out like the wind, pointing at the Empress Dowager's brow.

As soon as the finger was pointed out, the atmosphere in the entire Hanguang Palace changed. The cold autumn wind was dispelled by a vast and irresistible sunlight, and a powerful and upright aura was transmitted to everyone's hearts.

Fan Xian suddenly felt that aura behind the curtain, his heart shook, and his fingers trembled rapidly. Although that aura was unfamiliar, it was as harmonious with the zhenqi in his body as a relative, only it was several levels higher than his own realm, vaguely the realm that he had always longed to pursue but could never find an entry point!

He suddenly raised his head, staring blankly at the inside through the thin curtain. A voice in his heart was calling out to him, this is the second half of the manual! This is the second half of the manual that he had practiced for twenty years, but had made no progress at all!

...

...

(After checking, wheat should be harvested in summer. I seem to have made the same mistake as the rapeseed flowers in *Zhuque Ji*. It seems that I am increasingly going down the road of not knowing the five grains. But fortunately, it is Qing... The title of this chapter is "The Second Half of Father and Son." Everyone should know that this is a pun. This story is about to enter the final stage. There are probably six or seven chapters left in this volume, and then it will enter the final volume, *Chao Tian Zi*. I have confidence... This is the corrected version. I had previously typed the name of the last volume incorrectly.)