After Grand Secretary Shu finished speaking, the Emperor nodded, even if he had other thoughts in his heart, he couldn't say anything more at this moment. Because last year, due to Fan Xian's uproar in the Ministry of Justice, the court had demoted the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate to Jiangnan Road, using the excuse that this person was fond of boasting and had poor morals.

Words spoken by the Emperor were naturally impossible to retract now. However, at that time, the Emperor wanted to appease Fan Xian, but now the Emperor wanted to use Guo Zheng's memorial to do something. Being blocked by Grand Secretary Shu, he couldn't help but laugh at himself, thinking if this could be considered digging a pit for himself to jump into.

"Didn't an eunuch go to Jiangnan?" The Crown Prince jumped out at this time to show his stupidity, smiling and saying, "Father, although we cannot believe Censor Guo Zheng's one-sided statement, once that eunuch returns and speaks, we will know exactly what's going on in Jiangnan."

These words seemed steady and impartial, but were actually somewhat malicious. How the eunuch would slander Fan Xian was just a word from the Empress Dowager in the palace, and the Crown Prince was confident in this matter.

The Emperor glared at him and said coldly, "How can the words of an eunuch be believed? Ancestral teachings are here, don't forget!"

The Crown Prince dared not speak further, and Eunuch Yao, who was serving beside him, remained silent, his expression unchanged.

"Let's wait for Xue Qing's memorial." The Emperor closed his eyes and took a deep, heavy breath.

Everyone in the Imperial Study nodded, thinking that the words of the Governor-General of a route should be more credible.

Grand Secretary Hu, who hadn't expressed his opinion, finally spoke at this time, saying, "Since that's the case, then the matter of Jiangnan can be put aside for now. If there really is such a thing, this subject... really cannot believe it. As His Highness the Second Prince said earlier, if someone is privately transferring state funds to Jiangnan for personal gain, it's almost treason. This subject believes that Minister Fan would never be such a heartless and unscrupulous person. However, since the Jiangnan Road Censor and some local officials have submitted memorials, the court cannot ignore it. The Ministry of Revenue's investigation should indeed begin, firstly to satisfy the minds of all civil and military officials, and secondly to clear Minister Fan of these accusations."

The Qing Kingdom Emperor still maintained a superficial respect for these Grand Secretaries of the Chancellery, nodding slightly after pondering. He suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly, "Even if such a thing is done, it wouldn't be considered heartless and unscrupulous... I'm just a little curious. Have you ministers thought about how to investigate?"

Although there was a faint self-deprecating smile on his lips, everyone in the Imperial Study felt a chill in their hearts, sensing that His Majesty indeed had a big opinion of Minister Fan. However, everyone in their hearts didn't understand why the Fan residence, which had always been deeply favored by the Emperor, would suddenly become a place His Majesty disliked seeing? Where exactly had Fan Jian offended His Majesty?

And the last question asked by the Emperor left the ministers speechless, not knowing how to respond.

In the Qing Kingdom court, two systems were used to supervise official governance. One was the speech officials, the Censors of the Censorate who were accustomed to receiving court beatings, and the other, of course, was the Supervision Council, which held unparalleled power.

The Censorate belonged to a corruption prevention agency, with the power to report matters based on rumors, which was why Jiangnan Road Censor Guo Zheng dared to submit a memorial impeaching Fan Xian for privately moving state funds, selling at low prices and hoarding high, and competing with merchants for profit, without any factual basis.

The Supervision Council belonged to a post-event investigation agency, with enormous power. After being authorized by His Majesty, it could interrogate all civil and military officials.

Under normal circumstances, if something went wrong in any of the Six Ministries, the Supervision Council would, of course, investigate the matter. They could invite officials below the third rank to drink tea in that square, gray building. If the matter involved Vice Ministers or Ministers, they would request special permission again, investigating it level by level.

If the Ministry of Revenue had a deficit, it should, in theory, be handled according to this approach.

The problem was...

The current Supervision Council had a Director at the top and eight Bureaus below. Director Chen Pingping, who was infirm and feared by all officials, hadn't personally handled a case for several years, and had basically stayed in Chen Garden outside of Kyoto for the past year, no longer attending to matters. And now, there was an additional position between the Director and the eight Bureaus, a very powerful and special position.

Supervision Council Commissioner Fan Xian.

Fan Xian now had the power to mobilize the entire Supervision Council, and his power was almost the same as Chen Pingping's, except for personnel appointments and removals. If the Supervision Council was to investigate the Ministry of Revenue's deficit...

The ministers in the Imperial Study shook their heads one after another, thinking that if they let a son investigate his father, it would be a miracle if any problems were found! If this matter were to spread, I'm afraid that both Northern Qi and Eastern Yi, as well as the people of this world, would treat this matter as the biggest joke in Qing Kingdom's officialdom.

Grand Secretary Shu said with a bitter smile, "It seems that the Supervision Council must avoid suspicion this time. However, for the time being, this subject doesn't know how to arrange the investigation of the Ministry of Revenue."

The old ministers beside him nodded repeatedly. Since the Ministry of Revenue was to be investigated, it had to be investigated seriously. Whether they wanted to bring down Fan Jian or clear Fan Jian of suspicion, they needed to treat it with a serious attitude, and not turn it into a child's play.

At this moment, the Emperor sneered and said, "Why not follow the rules of previous years?"

"This..." Grand Secretary Shu groaned inwardly, thinking that the matter was clear, why did His Majesty have to pretend to be confused? After hesitating for a moment, he finally plucked up the courage to say, "Your Majesty, Commissioner Fan is, after all, the Commissioner with full authority of the Supervision Council. If the Supervision Council investigates the Ministry of Revenue, I'm afraid it won't have a good influence if this matter spreads."

"Let the Supervision Council investigate." The Emperor said coldly, "At the same time, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review will send personnel to assist. You should also choose a leader to take overall charge of this matter. Since we are investigating the Ministry of Revenue's deficit, it's not something that can be done by a few people."

The ministers in the Imperial Study understood that the so-called sending personnel to assist was actually just to monitor the Supervision Council. However, everyone really didn't understand. Since His Majesty had already decided that the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review would investigate the Ministry of Revenue, why did he have to drag the Supervision Council into this mess?

As for the choice of the minister in charge of the investigation of the Ministry of Revenue, the ministers were also hesitant. They knew that this task would offend the Fan family and related officials terribly, but they also knew that if they could really find problems, it would be a great achievement for their reputation in the world. Weighing the two, no one dared to take the risk to take on this hot potato.

Even the Minister of Personnel, the Second Prince, who was on the opposite side of the Fan family, remained silent.

The Emperor's mood was unreadable. He smiled and slowly swept his gaze across the faces of the ministers and his sons, finally landing on Grand Secretary Hu's face.

Grand Secretary Hu sighed inwardly, knowing that he couldn't avoid this difficulty. He had entered Kyoto at the beginning of the year and was promoted by His Majesty to Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet acting for the Chancellery. Although he had some literary reputation from many years ago and a good reputation as an official in various places, he didn't have any clear achievements in the central government. His Majesty favored him, simply because he had entered Kyoto recently and hadn't become entangled with various forces. On the other hand, he also wanted him to use the investigation of the Ministry of Revenue to establish his authority in the court.

Grand Secretary Hu was grateful for His Majesty's trust and favor, but he was secretly resentful of His Majesty for asking him to offend the Fan family.

At this moment, the First Prince, who had only spoken one sentence and then returned to silence, coldly said before Grand Secretary Hu, "Father, this son is willing to be the one to offend people."

The Emperor chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "You... can't."

"Why?" The First Prince frowned and said, "This son dares to guarantee with his head that he will definitely investigate fairly and impartially. Please, Father, trust this son's loyalty."

The smile on the Emperor's face gradually faded, and he said, "I said you can't, then you can't. You are the Commander of the Imperial Guards, yet you go to investigate the Ministry of Revenue. Do you want to set an example of the military interfering in politics!"

The Emperor's last sentence was extremely stern. The First Prince was stifled and couldn't continue to refute anything. Although the Emperor had always liked his frank personality, he had no choice but to retreat sullenly since the Emperor had placed such a heavy label of military interference in politics on him.

Grand Secretary Hu left his seat and requested, "This subject is willing to take overall charge of the investigation of the Ministry of Revenue."

The Emperor nodded and turned back to look coldly at the Crown Prince, saying, "The Crown Prince will also go and learn from Grand Secretary Hu. In this investigation, Grand Secretary Hu will lead the way, and you will be the errand boy."

"This son obeys."

The Crown Prince's expression was calm, but his heart was overjoyed. Although he was nominally just an errand boy, who wouldn't be afraid of him, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, sitting in the Ministry of Revenue? Besides Grand Secretary Hu, there was also a part for him. The Crown Prince was somewhat happy, thinking that after the Suspended Temple incident, the cold attitude his father had towards him had finally changed.

The ministers and princes received their orders and left. The Imperial Study returned to silence. The Emperor drank a sip of tea with a stern expression and got up from his couch.

Eunuch Yao quickly draped a cloak over him, seeing that His Majesty was not in a good mood, and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, shall we return to the palace to rest?"

"No." The Emperor walked out of the Imperial Study, saying, "Go to the Small Tower."

Eunuch Yao was stunned and quickly followed, saying nothing. He was strange in his heart, in the recent days, the number of times His Majesty went to the Small Tower was more and more.

————————————————————

Outside the palace gates, the ministers of the court, each with unease in their hearts, bid farewell with cupped hands. Some were gleefully preparing to announce to their party members that His Majesty was preparing to start a campaign against the Ministry of Revenue. Some were worriedly preparing to return to their residences to think about how to face the future situation in the court. Some were still confused, thinking about how His Majesty's mind had changed in a single day?

"Little Hu, come to my residence for a couple of drinks." Shu Wu didn't avoid anything and pulled Grand Secretary Hu, who was preparing to leave, at the palace gate, saying directly.

Grand Secretary Hu was currently preoccupied with official matters, and where could he eat any wine? He repeatedly begged for mercy, "Old Shu, haven't you seen that my luck is not good today? How can I have any mood to compose poems in pairs."

These two men were fond of literature and were also the heads of the civil officials. His Majesty didn't strictly prohibit private interactions between ministers, so their relationship was quite good. Although there was a large age difference, they often mixed together.

Grand Secretary Shu made a gesture, and Grand Secretary Hu's heart moved, so he agreed to the proposal.

……

……

"The imperial heart is difficult to fathom."

Shu Wu's residence was also in the Southern City, famous for its tranquility. It was not very large, but at this time, the two tipsy men were speaking under the pavilion, and there was no need to worry that the spring breeze would blow the taboo topics they were discussing out of the wall and be heard by others.

Shu Wu sighed and said, "I'm afraid your errand will be difficult to do. It's really pleasing the brother at the expense of the sister-in-law."

These words compared His Majesty to a brother and the Fan family to a sister-in-law, which was somewhat inappropriate. Grand Secretary Hu laughed and said, "What nonsense? You don't have the surname Hu, could it be that you've had too much to drink?"

"It's not nonsense." Shu Wu said seriously, lowering his voice, "What do you say you can do? According to His Majesty's meaning, he must find out that there is something wrong with the Ministry of Revenue before he will let it go, but if the Ministry of Revenue really has a problem, what will happen to Minister Fan?"

"The key issue now is whether there is anything wrong with the Ministry of Revenue." Grand Secretary Hu said with a worried expression, "You have explained to me in detail about Commissioner Fan's temperament. From his clear-headedness with three parts of ruthlessness, and his bold and arrogant style of doing things under his gentle and refined appearance, in order to stabilize Jiangnan and increase taxes, he transferred the Ministry of Revenue's money to Jiangnan... maybe it's really true!"

"Regardless of whether it's true or false for the time being, the court cannot know the situation there until Governor-General Xue Qing expresses his position. As for the Ministry of Revenue's deficit..."

Shu Wu sneered and said, "The Ministry of Revenue is the department in charge of money. Fighting a war requires money, repairing rivers requires money, disaster relief requires money, repairing gardens requires money, and the spring imperial examinations require money... everyone in the world is reaching out to the Ministry of Revenue to demand debts, and with the princes and officials occasionally borrowing some, it's really a mess! In all dynasties, where has there been a Ministry of Revenue with completely clear accounts!"

"The Ministry of Revenue is destined to be impossible to be clean." He continued to say coldly, "Our Great Qing Dynasty's Minister Fan started as a low-level official in the Ministry of Revenue and has been working in the Ministry of Revenue all his life. To be fair, the Ministry of Revenue under his administration is the cleanest and most transparent Ministry of Revenue since the founding of our dynasty, but even so, if you really want to find fault in it, how can there be no reason to pick it out?"

Grand Secretary Hu slowly nodded. Unlike the former Prime Minister Lin Ruofu, and unlike Fan Xian, who was arrogant in Jiangnan, this Minister of Revenue, Fan Jian, although he may also have some uncleanliness under his hands, acted extraordinarily low-key and simple. In terms of ability, there was absolutely no doubt, and his good reputation as an official was also rare in the court.

If such a Minister of Revenue fell in this political struggle, both of these Grand Secretaries would feel extremely sorry.

But this time, it just so happened that His Majesty revealed his intention to dismiss Fan Jian.

Why was this?

"Why is this?" Shu Wu frowned his old eyebrows and asked directly the question that had been lingering in the minds of the officials in the Imperial Study today for a long time.

Grand Secretary Hu was silent, raising his wrist and pouring a cup of strong liquor produced by the Inner Treasury into his lips, not speaking for a long time.

Shu Wu stared at his eyes, knowing that this colleague, who was much younger than himself, was quite trustworthy in certain aspects of judgment.

For a long time, forced by the other party's gaze, Grand Secretary Hu sighed and slowly said, "When everyone doesn't think of it, His Majesty moved this mind, it's really..."

He seemed unable to find any adjectives to describe this Nine-Five Supreme, so he could only smile bitterly and say, "It's really admirable. His Majesty's investigation of the Ministry of Revenue seems to be due to the rumors in the officialdom and his inner doubts, but in fact, this is a good strategy that kills three birds with one stone."

"Which three little birds?" Shu Wu asked, his beard full of wine, his words slurred.

"The first bird is of course the Ministry of Revenue, is Minister Fan. If the investigation of the Ministry of Revenue is powerful, Minister Fan will have no choice but to ask to resign and return to his hometown."

"The second bird is... the officials of the Princess Royal faction who first proposed this matter." Grand Secretary Hu said with a bitter smile, "If the Ministry of Revenue has an incident and Fan Jian resigns, how can Fan Xian be willing to give up? Don't worry, His Majesty will never allow this matter to involve Fan Xian. Fan Xian will still be the Commissioner of the Supervision Council after the incident. In this way, the Supervision Council will naturally retaliate against the officials of the Princess Royal faction. And at this time, His Majesty will no longer be forced by the pressure in the palace to be a mediator, but will watch all of this happen, and even make a posture to appease Fan Xian, forced to dismiss several senior officials."

"The pressure in the palace?" Shu Wu sighed and said, "Why can His Majesty disregard the pressure in the palace afterward? Why not continue to be a mediator?"

"The reason is very simple. Minister Fan's resignation and Fan Xian's anger can all be blamed on the officials of the Princess Royal faction. And as an Emperor, the most important thing is to maintain the balance among the officials in the court. Fan Xian's side first lost the Prime Minister and then lost Minister Fan. In order to maintain the balance, His Majesty will also cut off a large part of the people on the opposite side."

Grand Secretary Hu continued, "This rhetoric, this imperial heart, is the best way to persuade the old woman in the palace. Everything... is for the sake of Qing Kingdom, isn't it?"

He smiled, he smiled self-deprecatingly.

Shu Wu continued to sigh and asked, "What is the third bird?"

Grand Secretary Hu looked at him with a smile that was not a smile, "The third bird, naturally, is you and Old Shu."

Shu Wu was shocked and said, "What kind of statement is this? You took this order, and what we discussed in my Imperial Study was all fair. Fan Xian is not a fool, how can he bear resentment towards us?"

"What you said is exactly what I want to say." Grand Secretary Hu said, "Who told us to reveal in the court today that we wanted to pull Fan Xian into the cabinet? His Majesty's established policy was set long ago. In the future court situation, you and I are one party, and Fan Xian's Supervision Council is one party. Since we have some other thoughts, His Majesty will naturally break our thoughts. Even if Fan Xian does not resent us for this matter, how can he not resent the civil officials who submitted memorials to impeach Minister Fan? Once this matter comes out, Fan Xian will definitely give up the idea of taking the proper official path, and you and I will no longer have the possibility of sitting together in the Chancellery."

"It's just speculation." Shu Wu laughed and said, "Even if the imperial heart is difficult to fathom, don't think of it so complicated."

Grand Secretary Hu sighed helplessly, "Saying it is also what you want to say, and in the end, it's still you who mock. These words are enough for us to have our heads chopped off ten times, but you must not say them everywhere after drinking."

"How can I not be a Grand Secretary?" Shu Wu chuckled, "It's just for a little wine."

Suddenly, his expression froze, and he frowned and asked, "No, the first bird you said is not right, you have to explain to me clearly why His Majesty doesn't want Minister Fan to continue managing the Ministry of Revenue, why he wants to force Minister Fan to ask to resign."

Grand Secretary Hu sighed quietly, "The reason is actually very simple, it's because His Majesty is unwilling to see Minister Fan's face in the court every day."

The leaders of the two Qing Kingdom court civil officials fell silent at the same time, sighing in their hearts, feeling unworthy for Fan Jian. It seems that it's still better not to adopt a dragon child casually.

—————————————————————

Before the two Grand Secretaries were complaining for Minister of Revenue Fan Jian, they had also thought about whether they should quickly notify the Fan residence that the court was preparing to investigate the Ministry of Revenue. Later, on second thought, the Fan residence had many connections in the palace, how could they not know? So they dismissed the idea.

Indeed, not long after the Imperial Study meeting ended, Fan Jian, who had returned to his residence on the grounds of illness, had already received the news, knowing that at tomorrow's court meeting, His Majesty would officially launch an investigation into the Ministry of Revenue.

But he wasn't too worried. That solemn face no longer had the amorous aura of the past, only a calm composure.

"It's not a one-stone-three-birds strategy, it's a one-stone-four-birds strategy." Fan Jian said with a smile to the person opposite him, "As a subject who has been loyal to His Majesty for nearly thirty years, my respect for His Majesty has been consistent and has never weakened. Today's matter is really... admirable, admirable."

Whether in front of people or behind people, whenever Fan Jian mentioned His Majesty the Emperor, he always narrowed his eyes and focused his mind, full of respect and admiration. Today, these two admirations in the study... were spoken with great disrespect.

"What is the fourth bird?"

Fan Jian stretched out his right hand, unfolded it in front of him, bent his thumb, as if it were a wonderful palm technique learned from somewhere, with four fingers strong and unyielding pointing to the sky.

"The fourth bird is the Supervision Council."

"His Majesty wants to see if his decree can still command the Supervision Council, this terrifying institution, as smoothly as in the previous years, instead of being held in Fan Xian's hands, as he worries."

"Xian'er's progress is too fast." Fan Jian thought of his son far away in Jiangnan, sighing, "If His Majesty can't even command the Supervision Council, then the power in the hands of my Fan family would be too great."

The corners of his eyebrows suddenly twitched very lightly, and he said with a smile, "And His Majesty also wants to see what the real relationship between Chen Pingping and me is. For so many years, His Majesty has always trusted me and Old Cripple immensely, and you know why, because before Fan Xian entered Kyoto, Old Cripple and I have always been at odds. What he wants to do, I resolutely don't do. What I want to do, he resolutely opposes."

Fan Jian's expression dimmed, "Now that I think about it, it should be that Chen Pingping and I were both suspicious of each other, suspecting whether the other party played some disgraceful role in that incident many years ago."

"But Xian'er entered Kyoto." He continued to explain softly, "The suspicion between Chen Pingping and me has lessened a lot, and naturally, His Majesty's suspicion of us has increased. And the most important thing is that Xian'er is now becoming more and more glorious. Whenever Xian'er is one point more glorious, when His Majesty thinks of the events of the past and the scene of today, he will look at me one point more displeased."

"His Majesty is jealous."

"So I have to retire."

Minister of Revenue Fan Jian finally concluded.

But he immediately ridiculed with a frivolous expression that was now extremely rare on his face, "However... you know me, I have always been silent, good at acting, but in my bones, I am a very stubborn and ruthless person. He wants me to learn from Lin Ruofu and ask to resign myself, so as not to tear apart our faces and make it look bad... but I just refuse to resign. Anyway, the Emperor will always care more about the issue of face than the courtiers."