The servants in the Fan manor heard the decree, and it felt like a thunderbolt had struck down with ruthless cruelty, shaking the entire Fan manor. The faces of those kneeling outside the hall were pale, their hearts filled with shock and worry for their young master.

Not only them, but officials and commoners throughout the capital were well aware of the foundation of power held by the young Lord Fan. This decree to strip him of his offices was akin to severing his roots. However, Fan Xian, kneeling on the ground, maintained a calm expression, revealing no surprise or sorrow. This was exactly what he had anticipated, as he had pondered and judged in his bed these past two days: His Majesty would attempt to gradually strip away the layers of power shielding Fan Xian.

In the short span of ten days since meeting Wang Qinian on the way back to the capital from Dongyi City, Fan Xian had committed countless acts of utter audacity. The Black Knights roaring through the prefectures and counties was already a grave offense. Furthermore, the five hundred Black Knights charging through more than ten checkpoints had brought immense blame upon him in the court and amongst the people. Added to that was Fan Xian's storming of the capital, killing the commander of Zhengyang Gate, and publicly assassinating several powerful figures at the execution ground...

One by one, these were transgressions, unforgivable crimes under the Qing law. Even for Fan Xian, there had to be a price to pay. His Majesty had not imprisoned him, which could be considered merciful enough. However, this mercy could not quell the discussions and pressures in the court and among the people. Today's decree, stripping Fan Xian of his position as Director, was a preliminary explanation to the world and a channel for His Majesty to vent his anger.

As for what decrees might come from the palace in the future, and what blows and losses Fan Xian might suffer, it would depend on Fan Xian's response and the prevailing sentiment in the court and among the people.

Fan Xian rose somewhat woodenly and accepted the imperial decree from Eunuch Dai, casually handing it to a retainer behind him to be put away. He didn't bother to read it carefully, because the charges outlined in the decree were quite factual, and he had no intention of engaging in any legal battles with the palace over these matters.

"Have some tea before you leave," Fan Xian said gently to Eunuch Dai. Eunuch Dai's face revealed barely suppressed embarrassment and unease. His rise and fall in the palace these past few years had been entirely due to the young noble before him. Yet today, he was the one delivering this decree to the Fan manor. Eunuch Dai felt genuinely uncomfortable.

"This humble servant must return to the palace," Eunuch Dai said, his voice trembling slightly as he glanced uneasily at Fan Xian. "His Majesty is merely in a fit of anger. He will be better in a few days."

Fan Xian knew why the eunuch was displaying such emotion. He smiled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Don't think too much about it. Since His Majesty has entrusted you with the important task of announcing decrees again, he must trust you."

Eunuch Dai gave a respectful bow and was about to leave when he heard Fan Xian's low voice in his ear: "How is Ruoruo in the palace?"

For an eunuch and a minister to exchange information in private was a major taboo. However, after a moment's hesitation, Eunuch Dai did not hesitate at all. He lowered his voice and said, "Miss Fan is doing very well. She often listens to discussions in the Imperial Study. His Majesty treats her very well. Your Lordship need not worry."

The Fan family were actually members of the Li Imperial Clan by right. Coupled with Fan Xian's combination of benevolence and intimidation towards Eunuch Dai, the eunuch did not care about those taboos. He lowered his voice and described Ruoruo's situation in the palace these past few days.

Fan Xian raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised. He could not fathom His Majesty's intentions, nor did he understand why his sister could appear so detached in the palace, not at all like a hostage.

After the welcoming of the decree was completed, Fan Xian turned to the main hall and looked at his wife, who had been listening quietly from the back. He said softly, "Today is just the first wave. I hold many positions concurrently. If His Majesty wants to peel them off one by one, it will take some time."

Lin Wan'er glanced at him, gently biting her lower lip, and said, "If the name is not correct, the words will not carry weight. Although the position of Director is currently vacant, His Majesty is probably waiting for you to enter the palace to plead guilty. After some time, he will still bestow the position on you, but... ultimately, imperial power is boundless. Without the position of Director, I'm afraid there will be some obstacles in consolidating the power within the Court these days."

"His Majesty is also aware of this, so his first strike was to cut off my position in the Court," Fan Xian said as he sat down, his voice low. "At least for now, he does not want the court to be in chaos, so he is slowly stripping away my power, waiting for me to naturally admit my guilt and bow my head. However... after so many years, the Overwatch Council has been under the control of that old cripple. His Majesty still does not understand the intricacies within. Even if many in the Overwatch Council fear imperial power, there are still more who do not recognize the decree but only recognize the traditions of the Court."

"Being under house arrest is like being forced to commit suicide, both are very difficult problems to solve," Fan Xian said. "His Majesty wants the whole world, including myself, to slowly get used to the days when I lose power, so it will be much easier to deal with me. Therefore, I have to seize the time."

Lin Wan'er frowned. She had never understood that even if Fan Xian could tear open the great net outside the manor and contact the Qinian Group members, what problems could be solved with just one meeting?

"My subordinates are a group of very remarkable people," Fan Xian said calmly, seeing the doubt in her heart. "And they can help the house-arrested me to contact a batch of even more remarkable people."

……

……

If Fan Xian forcibly broke through the surveillance network outside the manor, it would not be a difficult thing to do with his current cultivation, just as he said last night. Unless His Majesty personally took action, it would be difficult to find a few people in this Qing Kingdom who could follow him.

However, he had to consider the safety of his subordinates and those collaborators who were not in the capital. Therefore, he could not give the palace any chance to track him and thus sweep away his true foundation.

The position of Director of the Overwatch Council being taken away could not affect Fan Xian's ability to regain control of the Overwatch Council through those officials who were loyal to himself and to Chen Pingping. However, if the court really used Fan Xian as a line to wipe out all those foundations he had been hiding behind the scenes, it would be much more difficult for Fan Xian to contact those forces that were far away from the court.

Therefore, Fan Xian's actions were very careful. His carefulness was shown to the world, but it was a kind of unreasonable and extremely bloody decisiveness, because not long after the decree that His Majesty had removed Fan Xian from his position as Director of the Overwatch Council spread throughout the capital, news immediately followed that Lord Fan had once again taken action against the network of spies outside the Fan residence.

On this day, more than twenty people died outside the Fan residence.

The next day, the palace issued a decree stripping Fan Xian of his position as Commissioner of the Internal Treasury, formally stripping the treasure of the Internal Treasury, which Qing Kingdom relied on as the foundation of its national power, from Fan Xian's control.

That night, Fan Xian struck again, sweeping through the characters in the streets and alleys around the Fan residence in a well-shaped pattern.

On the third day, the palace issued a decree severely reprimanding Fan Xian, and his title of First Class Duke was directly stripped away, all the way to the bottom.

……

……

Seven days later, all the official positions of the most dazzling young official in Nanqing were ruthlessly stripped away by imperial decrees. On the day of Yijiangnan Dragon Raising Head Festival, that long string of prefixes before the young imperial envoy who stepped down from the ship was now completely gone.

From this day on, Fan Xian returned to being a commoner, even more inferior than the scholars who came to the capital for the imperial examination. He had no official position, no nominal authority, and no salary. The position of the Ministry of Rites that he once held during the Spring Examination was also remembered by the palace, and the extremely honorable position of Qing of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was also stripped away.

The only thing Fan Xian had left was the position of instructor in the Imperial College, which was also reduced by three grades, but for some reason, His Majesty the Emperor did not take away this position as well.

In these seven days, the Imperial Palace and the Fan residence were like a transmission belt, transmitting His Majesty's calm and indifferent decrees, transmitting chilling decrees one after another. Under each decree, the brilliance on Fan Xian faded a layer.

The eyes of the officials and commoners of the capital were all focused on the road in front of the Fan residence. After the autumn rain execution ground that day, they all knew that this road would be very busy, but they did not expect that this road would be so busy.

No one thought that His Majesty's punishment for the young Duke would be so thorough and severe, and no one thought that Fan Xian would be so rigid, resisting for seven days in a row, but still not entering the palace to plead guilty.

Everyone was watching the Fan residence, waiting to see what direction this cold war between His Majesty and his illegitimate son would go, whether His Majesty would be furious and simply arrest Fan Xian and imprison him, or whether Fan Xian would not be able to withstand these decrees and finally yield.

However, even though Fan Xian was now just a commoner, the people of the capital still habitually called him Lord Fan in their interesting chats after tea and dinner, and those officials who were nervously observing the progress of this matter in their respective residences still habitually called him Young Duke.

Because they all knew that even if Fan Xian had now been demoted by His Majesty to a commoner, as long as he did not die or go to jail, he could still become that great figure who was second only to one person and above ten thousand people at any time.

No one dared to underestimate Fan Xian's existence. Even unexpectedly, Fan Xian had clearly violated countless Qing laws, ignored the court, and killed so many people, but in the public discussion, there were still not too many comments that were unfavorable to Fan Xian.

In this war between His Majesty and Fan Xian, the Qing Kingdom experienced for the first time the strange state that public opinion was not entirely in the palace. Perhaps it was because although Fan Xian killed people outside the Fan residence, he did not do it exaggeratedly. Except for the first day and the second day, his murderous aura had been restrained a lot, and what did the people he killed have to do with the general public? Perhaps it was because many people in the capital had seen Fan Xian holding Chen Pingping's body and crying haggardly in that autumn rain, and subconsciously felt a little sympathy.

Human emotions are inherently so strange. One moment, they may be applauding and cheering, and the next moment, they may begin to be silent and remember. Countless executions and countless deaths since ancient times have actually seen such developments.

But the real foundation that allows Fan Xian, a commoner, to still have a lot of public support is his actions over the years. Those glorious old deeds do not need to be calculated for energy one by one, and there is no need to care about how much Chen Pingping used the Overwatch Council Eight Divisions to do for Fan Xian in the first place. The fact is that since His Majesty the Emperor led the Qing Kingdom iron cavalry to break through the old dynasty's rivers and mountains and created countless territories decades ago, Fan Xian is probably the only person in Nanqing who can be called an idol.

If it were in Jiangnan, perhaps Fan Xian could get even greater public support, because after all, he had been operating there for the longest time, and the Hangzhou Association managed by Lin Wan'er had spared no expense in providing relief to the people over the years, and had long replaced the Ming family and become the most glorious name in the hearts of the poor people and scholars in Jiangnan.

After all, being in the capital, the people under the imperial city could not do anything even if they were biased towards Fan Xian, so in the final analysis, this war was still a war between Fan Xian and His Majesty, just like the war in the Imperial Study.

……

……

Seven days later, everything was undecided, and the world was not peaceful. Outside the Fan residence, there was still autumn wind and intermittent drizzle. However, under Fan Xian's god-like cleaning, those spies sent by the inner court were forced to pull the great net outward.

The majesty of imperial power is undoubtedly supreme, and the fear of death is also supreme. In this double attack, the surveillance of the inner court will undoubtedly reveal flaws. Fan Xian stood coldly at the gate of the residence, quietly watching the movement around him, but thinking of Wan'er's words that day, a strange emotion flashed in his eyes.

If the Emperor wanted to deal with Fan Xian's rebellious resistance, there were actually many ways, so why didn't he use them? Was the outward movement of these inner court spies due to his reckless actions, or did His Majesty the Emperor secretly issue some decree? Those spies are endless...

Fan Xian couldn't figure it out, and he didn't want to figure it out. Perhaps that man in the palace still had some affection and expectations for himself, but he didn't want this affection and expectation to shake his heart again, that heart that had already cooled in the autumn rain.

He turned and entered the Fan residence. Not long after, a vegetable cart also turned into the side alley next to the Fan residence and entered the side gate. Of course, outside the side gate, this cart was subjected to the most stringent inspection, even the inner layers of each cabbage and the roots of each radish were not spared.

The people in charge of these inspections were all officials who revealed their identities. Unlike those inner court spies scattered around the Fan residence, Fan Xian did not make things difficult for these people, because if he wanted to get rid of the shackles of house arrest, he only needed to be careful of those spies, not these officials.

The vegetable cart had nothing unusual. The official waved his hand and let the cart enter the Fan residence. Not far from the side gate was the Fan residence's main kitchen, and servants naturally came to carry the vegetables and fruits on the cart.

The imperial decree was clear that the people inside the Fan residence could not go out, and it was extremely difficult for people outside to come in. Even this cart was actually sent directly by the vegetable inspection department in Dengshikou, and it was under the surveillance of the court from the source, so naturally there was no fear that the Fan residence or those unruly officials of the Overwatch Council would want to do anything.

However, the driver of the cart quietly walked to the back garden while everyone was not paying attention, and then, under the guidance of an old servant of the Fan residence, directly entered a quiet study.

As soon as the driver entered the study, he saw that there was a woman in addition to Fan Xian, and immediately guessed that it should be the Director's wife. After a slight pause, he took off his straw hat, knelt down and saluted, "Greetings, Director."

Lin Wan'er covered her mouth in surprise after the driver took off his straw hat and said, "So similar."

The driver was a little embarrassed, but he did not dare to say anything. He stood up and said directly, "The guards outside the residence have been strict these days, so everyone has not dared to move."

"This is a capable general in my Qinian Group. He helped me a lot back in Northern Qi," Fan Xian explained to his wife gently. This Overwatch Council official, who looked extremely similar to himself, had been hidden in the Qinian Group. However, even he did not expect that after being blocked for seven days, the person who risked entering the residence to connect with him would actually be this person.

"It's best not to move rashly. Nothing is more important than one's own life," Fan Xian said seriously to the subordinate. This was the belief that he had always instilled in the people around him, even his most loyal subordinates: Nothing is more important than one's own life. Wang Qinian did this, and Gao Da also did this.

"The net outside has loosened a bit. I'm going out today," Fan Xian said softly, lowering his head slightly.

"Your Lordship, this is too risky," the official said seriously. He thought that since he had risked entering the residence, it would be better for him to pass on any message.

"No," Fan Xian shook his head. Those words were too important and had to be personally conveyed to everyone's ears. A slight mistake would probably cause a lot of trouble. He suddenly thought that if Wang Qinian was by his side at this time, everything would be much easier to solve. With Old Wang's ability, it would not be too difficult to sneak into the Fan residence under the eyes of the spies.

"The vegetable cart belongs to the vegetable inspection department. How did you get in?" Fan Xian suddenly thought of this question, his eyes slightly condensed, somewhat worried.

"Dai Zhen has returned to the vegetable inspection department," the official replied with a smile.

Fan Xian also laughed. Eunuch Dai had become the leading eunuch in charge of proclaiming decrees again, and as a result, his cousin also returned to his position in the vegetable inspection department. With the methods that the Overwatch Council used to deal with the Dai family back then, it would naturally be easy to leave some loose ends and use them now.

……

……

The sky in the capital in autumn is clear and vast. Rain fell from those lead-like hanging clouds, making the surrounding scenery blurred but moving. The Fan residence and the imperial palace's hard resistance for seven consecutive days, especially Lord Fan's relentless cleaning of the spies outside the residence for seven consecutive days, ultimately chilled the hearts of most of the inner court spies, because they felt that their colleagues had died in vain. From the looks of it, His Majesty in the palace would never really arrest his illegitimate son and put him in prison to avenge these colleagues.

Therefore, the net outside the Fan residence loosened imperceptibly, leaving some loopholes that could be exploited, and that vegetable cart, which looked like it had no problems, drilled out of this loophole.

……

……

Somewhere secluded in the capital, the houses and alleys were simple, without the deep gardens and mansions of large families. A small courtyard was quietly located at the end of an alley. The sound of selling vegetables in the street outside could be heard clearly here, but for several years, no one has ever known what this small courtyard represents.

Wiping off the flour and rouge disguise on his face with the slight autumn rain, Fan Xian flashed into the small courtyard and then saw many familiar faces. Looking at the surprise on these faces and the sadness after the surprise, Fan Xian felt a slight emotion in his heart, but did not reveal it on his face.

This was the most secret base of the Qinian Group, and the Overwatch Council officials here were Fan Xian's early and loyal subordinates. When there were strange rumors in the capital, especially when some subtle signs emerged within the Overwatch Council, these members of the Qinian Group silently and quietly left their posts and returned to this small courtyard through different channels, waiting for Fan Xian's summons.

Many years ago, when the Qinian Group only had Fan Xian and Wang Qinian, one old and one young, Wang Qinian spent a very small amount of money to buy this courtyard. These members of the Qinian Group were like Fan Xian's eyes and arms, and now that Fan Xian was going to wield those forces scattered throughout the world that were close to him, he had to convey his will through these loyal and unswerving eyes and arms.

This was the reason why he spent so much thought and energy to come here in person.

……

……

(I've been writing a bit frantically these past few days. Is it a problem with my brain and body? I want to take a day off to sort things out and finish telling this story well. I'll take a deep breath and try my best... It's my mother's birthday today, so I'm going to be filial. I wish you all a happy weekend, and please vote for monthly tickets to support and encourage me. Thank you very much.)