Back at the residence, Ye Ling'er and the Princess Roujia had already returned. Fan Xian went back to his room and asked Siqi to pour tea, thus dismissing the young maid who, like Sisi, seemed to be constantly directing her affections at him despite it being autumn. Seizing the opportunity to be alone with his wife, he asked in a low voice, "Have there been any whispers from the palace lately?"

Lin Wan'er was sitting by the window, embroidering something in the fading daylight. Hearing his question, she looked up, surprised. "Has something happened?"

It was nearly dusk, and the light entering the window spread out into a wide, somewhat dim glow. Fan Xian, noticing Wan'er's furrowed brow, felt a pang of tenderness. He went over, smoothed her brow, and said, "The light's not good. What are you embroidering?"

Wan'er's complexion was a bit pale, perhaps from not resting well the night before. She giggled softly, hiding the embroidery behind her back, and said, "I'll show you when it's finished."

Looking at his wife's delicate appearance and long eyelashes, Fan Xian couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. Since leaving Kyoto in early spring, he had been less attentive to her than the previous year. It wasn't that he was fickle – after all, the dignified Master Fan still didn't even have a concubine – but so many things occupied his mind that he rarely concerned himself with household matters.

Remembering his earlier question, Lin Wan'er paused to consider before saying, "The palace has been quiet lately, nothing unusual. Why do you ask?"

Fan Xian smiled wryly. "Your ruthless uncle has given me a position that's bound to offend many officials. And the real masters of those officials all live in the palace. Naturally, I have to pay attention."

Lin Wan'er's status was special. Favored by the Empress Dowager and held in high regard by the Emperor, her position in the palace was even higher than Fan Xian had imagined. The Emperor had no daughters, and Qing Yu Nian didn't have a proper princess, but Wan'er was practically one.

After thinking for a moment, she smiled and said, "Don't worry. Everyone knows the Emperor dotes on you. Of course, the consorts will only say good things about you to your face."

Fan Xian chuckled. "I've only met the Emperor a few times. I don't know where this 'doting' comes from. It's possible the Emperor dotes on you, but as for me… it's just a case of loving the crow because of the house."

A hint of adoration flashed in Lin Wan'er's eyes. She said softly, "You're always like this..." She continued, "Noble Consort Shu has been singing your praises lately. As for Consort Yi, you know she's related to our family, so she's bound to favor you. But the Empress is as quiet and reserved as always. As for the other consorts, they don't even have the right to speak in the palace, so I didn't bother to remember them."

Fan Xian trusted his wife's judgment. Even if he were to fully control the Surveillance Bureau in the future, the palace would still be a formidable place beyond his reach. Wan'er was his most reliable source of information and his secret agent. As for Noble Consort Shu singing his praises, it was nothing more than him doing her a small favor that didn't cost him anything.

"What about Consort Ning?" Fan Xian asked curiously. "The incident of me contending with your eldest brother should have reached the palace by now."

Lin Wan'er covered her mouth and laughed. "Aunt Ning is too lazy to bother with you. She's always doted on me the most. She said you and the First Prince were just two little rascals making trouble, and she'll punish you both equally."

Fan Xian feigned alarm. "My dear wife! Those palace beatings are no joke. You have to say a few good words for me."

Lin Wan'er was too lazy to indulge his playful banter. She spat lightly and said, "You like to offend people yourself, yet you always want me to clean up after you." She took out the taut embroidery frame from behind her, giggling. "Does the Director have any more questions? Then please leave and don't delay my work."

Fan Xian withdrew the hand he was about to use to grab her small hand, and said gloomily, "I wonder what's so important." Just as he was about to leave, he remembered the important figure he had forgotten to ask about and asked hesitantly, "Did you see the Empress Dowager?"

Lin Wan'er's hand paused slightly. After a moment, she looked up, her eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and sadness. She nodded and said, "I did. Grandmother didn't say anything."

The Empress Dowager, who lived deep within the palace, was in reality the true power holder of the entire court. Strangely enough, Fan Xian had entered the palace several times but had never had the opportunity to meet her. Even the last two times he and his wife entered the palace together, the Empress Dowager claimed to be ill and declined to see him. But when Wan'er entered the palace alone, the old woman was extremely fond of her, hugging her and calling her "precious darling." The Empress Dowager's obvious aloofness towards Fan Xian made Wan'er feel uneasy and confused.

Fan Xian sneered inwardly, knowing that the old woman had ultimately guessed something, but he wasn't too afraid.

Lin Wan'er looked into his eyes and sighed. "She told me about Ling'er's visit to the palace the other day… My dear, I know your official duties are difficult right now, but you don't really know what kind of person you are. You seem to be using her, but you're probably just giving yourself an excuse to remember her kindness. The things you told me about last night, they seem terrible to me. Second Brother… the Second Prince seems gentle and easygoing now, but his personality is actually very stubborn. Since you're forced to investigate him, it wouldn't be right to be so considerate."

Fan Xian looked at his wife's worried face and smiled, nodding. "I never expected that you gave the Second Prince the nickname 'Stone' when you were little."

"He seems easygoing, but he won't change his mind once he's made it up," Lin Wan'er said anxiously.

Fan Xian always believed that honesty was the key to a good marriage. If he had to be wary of his wife after being reborn, life would be too miserable. Therefore, he didn't hide the fact that he was investigating the Second Prince from his wife. Hearing Wan'er's concerns, he comforted her, "Actually, it's for the Second Prince's own good. Judging by the current situation, these courtiers seem to be blinded, unable to see the Emperor's determination to protect the Crown Prince. If no one pulls the Second Prince back now, it will be difficult for him to come down once he's truly climbed to the top of the pole."

Lin Wan'er smiled sweetly and didn't continue the topic. Instead, she said, "I don't know how your heart is made. It seems to have a few more orifices than others. Your mind is full of twists and turns."

*Xin Jiao Bi Gan Duo Yi Qiao*? Fan Xian almost blurted out. (This is a Chinese idiom that means "to be more intelligent than Bi Gan," a legendary figure known for his wisdom.) But he knew that he was just an actor, politically immature. The only things he could rely on were his cold-blooded ruthlessness and his outward gentleness. He bowed deeply to his wife and smiled, "How dare I compare to the great strategist Lin? You're a fairy who escaped from the most cutthroat palace in the world."

Lin Wan'er spat lightly at him and scolded with a smile, "Do you really think the palace is that awful?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, "As a wise predecessor once said, the only places in this world that are full of intrigue and darkness are brothels and the imperial palace. It's really not a place for humans."

Hearing this, Lin Wan'er was stunned and felt a little unhappy. She lowered her head. Only then did Fan Xian realize that his wife was from the palace, and his words were a bit inconsiderate. He smiled and apologized, and the two quickly reconciled. After a moment of silence, Lin Wan'er pondered and felt a little moved. Although her birth mother was the current Princess, how many women in this world could receive such respectful treatment from their husbands after marriage? And she had never heard of a husband apologizing to his wife.

Lin Wan'er said gently, "The palace isn't really as you imagine. The Emperor, my uncle, is an enlightened ruler who doesn't indulge in female beauty. The consorts all get along well on the surface. No one dares to use the tricks you talk about in those novels. The Empress Dowager is watching. That old ancestor won't tolerate anyone who dares to harm the Emperor's bloodline."

Hearing this, Fan Xian's heart stirred, and he felt much more at ease.

Lin Wan'er smiled and said, "The Emperor is extremely strict with internal affairs. Competing for favor? There isn't any favor to compete for. How can you compete? The Empress doesn't really interfere either, so the consorts… they have to put all their energy into mahjong. It's good to compete for pride. It's actually no different from the households of ordinary princes."

Fan Xian was stunned. He really didn't expect the palace to be such a harmonious scene. Didn't that mean that all those palace intrigue stories he had read in his previous life were useless? He scratched his head with a self-deprecating smile and chuckled, "No wonder your mahjong skills are so good. Even that little monster, Fan Sizhe, can only tie with you."

Hearing about mahjong, Lin Wan'er's face immediately radiated an unusual brilliance, startling Fan Xian. He stepped forward to examine it closely and realized that this brilliance was subtle and restrained, like a piece of jade, and could be described as: the light of a master reverting to simplicity.

……

……

Lin Wan'er glanced at her mischievous husband with a roll of her eyes and said, "I'm just itching to play. Since marrying you, I hardly ever see you. But I'm lucky, I finally caught my little brother-in-law, the genius of the mahjong table."

She gritted her teeth, wrung her hands, and cracked her knuckles. "I don't know where Fan Sizhe has gone these past few days. I can't catch him at the mahjong table every day. Playing with his mother is just suffering. She's so respectful and polite, it's like I'm her mother-in-law."

Fan Xian flicked her pointed little nose and scolded with a smile, "Why do you talk like that?" He paused and said, "Liu Shi is naturally not your mother-in-law. Don't be too domineering in the residence either."

Lin Wan'er said resentfully, "Am I that kind of person?" Her tone changed and she continued, "The chrysanthemum appreciation is coming up in a few days. According to past practice, the nobles in the palace will go to the West Mountains, but I don't know how they'll arrange things for us this year. We'll definitely go, it's just a matter of how we'll go. I guess the palace eunuchs will come to deliver the edict in a few days. Don't forget about it."

"Chrysanthemum appreciation?" Fan Xian's brow twitched. He knew that people in Kyoto liked to go to the gardens to admire chrysanthemums when the autumn was crisp and the air was clear. He didn't expect the royal family to have this hobby as well. He naturally had to attend the Lee family's grand gathering. But thinking about what he had been doing in Kyoto recently, he suddenly wondered if those old foxes were paying attention to his every move, just like they were admiring chrysanthemums.

Unaware of her husband's sudden silence, Lin Wan'er said seriously, "I haven't had any mahjong to play lately, and the chrysanthemums haven't bloomed yet. It's always boring. The book you promised me before our wedding… when are you going to write it for me?"

Fan Xian was overwhelmed with official duties. He had no energy to copy *Dream of the Red Chamber*. He smiled wryly and begged for mercy. "I said, Grandma, please spare me." Seeing Lin Wan'er's insistent look, he didn't dare to stay in the room any longer. He pushed the door open and fled with his tail between his legs.

——————————————————————

Fan Xian, fleeing as if he had seen a ghost, walked through the spacious residence. It wasn't until he encountered a few groups of smiling maids that he felt a little inappropriate. He coughed twice, trying to show the demeanor of a famous figure, a famous minister. But he straightened up for less than a moment before relaxing again. He gritted his teeth and thought, since he had decided to live beautifully in this world, why should he care about other people's gazes? He grunted, hummed a little tune, and Cha-Cha-ed his way into his study.

His conversation with his wife had been casual, but he had gained some useful information. However, Fan Sizhe's recent movements were indeed a bit strange. Fan Xian frowned, feeling a little worried. Then, thinking about the *Dream of the Red Chamber* issue, he remembered that the Northern Qi Emperor had blocked the news. Since he owed him a favor, it seemed he should copy a chapter and send it over. But he couldn't hide the fact that he was the author of *Dream of the Red Chamber* for long. He decided not to use the Surveillance Bureau's secret line of communication.

He had only been sitting for less than a moment when the daylight outside the room had not yet completely faded. Yan Bingyun had arrived as scheduled. Fan Xian looked at the documents he handed over and couldn't help but rub his temples. Today, he had first reviewed the files submitted by Mu Tie, set the tone with Shi Chanli, then went to the "old residence" to handle affairs, came back to coax his wife, and now he had to talk to Master Yan. Doing so many things in just one day, it seemed that this so-called "cultivation of a powerful minister" was indeed a very hard road.

"I've arrested the people you wanted me to arrest. I don't know if it'll be helpful for your work," Fan Xian asked casually without looking at the documents. The recent "rat hunting" seemed to not have touched the officialdom of Kyoto, but in reality, under the cover of a large number of redundant cases, he had carefully approached the Second Prince's secret forces, and tentatively detained two officials. Yan Bingyun believed that although the two officials were of low rank, they were important figures in verifying whether there was any relationship between the Second Prince and the Princess.

Yan Bingyun sat in the chair, his expression calm. He pointed to the documents in front of him. "I've gotten what I needed."

Fan Xian was shocked and said, "So fast?" He was too lazy to look at the files again and asked directly, "Conclusion?"

Yan Bingyun said coldly, "Xinyang's smuggling to Northern Qi and Dongyi City every year is extremely large. On the surface, the deficit is caused by the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, but in reality, the largest sum is given to the Second Prince through the Ming family, used to buy off officials in the court and make friends with the feudal lords. So your judgment is correct. The Second Prince is backed by the Princess."

Fan Xian frowned. "The Ming family? The Ming family, who are related to the Cui family by marriage?"

"Exactly."

"How did such a large sum of money get transferred from the Internal Treasury to the Second Prince?" Fan Xian asked for advice.

"Of course, it can't go through the Kyoto line. It goes around from the south of the Yangtze River. After being dispersed by several imperial merchants, it goes from bottom to top, and then the Second Prince unifies the distribution." Yan Bingyun glanced at him. "The process is very complicated. It's written in the files. You can just read it if you don't understand anything. It's more complicated to explain it verbally."

Fan Xian ignored the doubt in his tone about his abilities and fell into deep thought. His judgment was correct. He took a deep breath and said, "So, you mean that the Princess and the Second Prince are already in the same boat?"

Fan Xian asked, "The Princess and the Second Prince are doing it so secretly, but we easily found it out. Do you think the palace doesn't know? Doesn't our Dean Chen know?"

"Even if the palace is vigilant, they certainly don't have any evidence in their hands." Yan Bingyun lowered his eyes slowly. "Don't forget, Zhu Ge, the dead leader of the First Bureau, has always been the Princess's man. If it weren't for you being in charge of the First Bureau now and the other departments fully cooperating, this case would not have been found out at all… So the current situation is that if you really reveal this case… Kyoto will inevitably be in chaos."

He said it very calmly, but Fan Xian heard a hint of coldness behind his words. Being able to find out so quickly, in addition to the Surveillance Bureau's terrifying resources, was largely dependent on Yan Bingyun's superb abilities. And it was clear that Yan Bingyun did not want the case he investigated to cause chaos in the ever-peaceful Qing Yu Nian court.

In the final analysis, Yan Bingyun was not loyal to Fan Xian, but to the Emperor, to Qing Yu Nian, and to the Surveillance Bureau.

Fan Xian glanced at him and said, "Do you know what it means to suppress this matter?"

Yan Bingyun shook his head. "I only know that if this matter is exposed, your wife will definitely be the most difficult one."

In fact, most of the upper echelons knew that Fan Xian's wife was the daughter of the Princess, but no one had said it. If Fan Xian was determined to expose this matter, there was no doubt that, from any perspective, the Emperor in the palace would make an unusually strong reaction, and Lin Wan'er's situation would inevitably become awkward.

Fan Xian's actions after returning to Kyoto were actually just to make up for the mistake of forcing the Princess away with *Yan Zhi*, and to alleviate the conflict within the palace. The result he wanted was to force the Emperor, who might have other plans, to strip the Princess of her power in the shortest possible time.

"I respect my wife." Fan Xian stared at Yan Bingyun with a cold expression. "But I won't slow down my steps because of her difficulties."

Yan Bingyun slowly raised his head, his eyes seemed to be filled with some doubts. "This is exactly what I don't understand, Lord. What exactly do you want to do?"

"Two reasons." Fan Xian stood up, walked to the window of the study, looked at the slowly sinking sun, and saw a woman tending to the branches and leaves of the shrubs in a corner of the courtyard. "The first is very simple. The court is currently short of money. The major rivers in the south have been in disrepair for many years, and this year the dikes have collapsed, drowning hundreds of thousands of people. Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I imagine… it's really tragic, buddy."

"Where can we get money for disaster relief? My father has been worrying about this issue these days. This dynasty's financial situation is different from that of the historical dynasties. Years of military use have consumed a lot of money and food. Not to mention that, the source is also very strange. A large share of the annual national treasury must be transferred from the Internal Treasury. The Internal Treasury is the Emperor's treasury… In reality, you and I both know that it's the legacy of the Ye family's mistress, and it's only with the endless money generated by these industries that Qing Yu Nian can be supported."

Fan Xian turned his head back, squinting at Yan Bingyun. "And the Princess is someone who loves to play with power. Over the years, the money from the Internal Treasury has gradually scattered into the hands of officials, exchanging loyalty and power for her and him. To put it bluntly, this is using the Emperor's money to dig out the Emperor's ministers. The money is being spent on infighting and officials. Where can we find money for the places that need money in this world?"

"Money is just money, but how to use it is a big problem. Instead of letting it mold in the houses of officials, we might as well force it out and fill it into the river to scare the water ghosts."

"So, I'm anxious to investigate the Cui family and the Second Prince, lest our Princess and that Second Prince, who seems to only like reading… generously give away all our Qing Yu Nian's money." Fan Xian lowered his head slightly, seeming a little emotional, and said with a wry smile, "Of course, after this matter is exposed, the Emperor probably won't severely punish his own sister, but like the last time he drove her out of the palace, the Emperor will always check the Internal Treasury in order to prevent gossip, and he'll also wake up the Second Prince… But I… probably the Emperor will be angry and think I'm meddling in other people's business, kick me out of the Surveillance Bureau, and demote me far away."

He stretched lazily, with a pure and innocent smile on his face. "There's nothing I can do… I hope the Emperor will let me go back to Danzhou."

Yan Bingyun tilted his head slightly, his expression stiff, as if he had never met the Director in front of him. He murmured, "But you will take over the Internal Treasury next year. Wouldn't it be justifiable to investigate then?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, as if talking about someone else's affairs, "Our Qing Yu Nian doesn't have any surplus grain. The sooner we stop the outflow of money from the Internal Treasury, the more bowls of porridge the disaster-stricken people in the south can drink. Other things can wait, but if you don't eat a meal, you'll be hungry."

Yan Bingyun stared at him intently, as if trying to see clearly whether the person in front of him was the scheming powerful minister he had originally thought, or a great saint who was compassionate, selfless, and unafraid of criticism.