Fan Xian didn't have time to explain, smiling as he commanded, "I'll tell you, you write." He didn't have time to grind ink, so he casually picked up a goose feather quill, dipped it in the remaining ink in the inkstone, handed it to his sister, then closed his eyes tightly, and began to recall the complex distribution of palaces and the layout of roads inside the imperial palace.

Fan Ruoruo's face grew paler as she wrote, and Fan Xian's face became increasingly pale because of the mental energy he spent on recalling. The two siblings turned into two big pale faces. After finally sketching out a rough map of the imperial palace, Fan Ruoruo couldn't help but whisper, "Brother, do you know that this is a crime of treason?"

Fan Xian relaxed, slumped into a chair, and remained silent for a long time. He had spent half the day in the palace today, having to talk and chat with those nobles, remembering the complicated roads, and finally engaging in a spiritual confrontation with the Eldest Princess for a long time. It was too mentally draining, and he couldn't recover for a while.

He was naturally familiar with the Qing laws, and he knew that drawing diagrams of the imperial palace was absolutely forbidden. This was to prevent anyone from secretly entering the palace to do those rebellious things. And Fan Xian needed this map because he had already decided on a plan, and in this plan, that night, he would sneak into the imperial palace to find the key.

He could inquire about the roads in the imperial palace from Lin Wan'er, but that would be too risky. Moreover, the roads used by the palace masters were completely different from the roads Fan Xian had carefully planned. Even if Wu Zhu told him, it wouldn't work. Hidden places behind the artificial hills, blind spots in the flower bushes, if he didn't walk them himself, it would be impossible to create a map that he was so satisfied with today.

Fan Xian stood up, walked to the table, picked up the map his sister had drawn, and found that although it was hasty, his sister's brushwork was still meticulous. He couldn't help but happily pat his sister's head and said, "If things work out, I'll take you to Yi Shi Ju for seafood."

Fan Ruoruo got angry and snatched the map back, saying, "Things work out? What things work out! Do you know how big of a deal this is? No, I'm going to tell Father."

Fan Xian smiled bitterly, thinking that the concept of the inviolability of imperial power was indeed deeply rooted in people's hearts. Of course, he also understood that his sister was mainly worried about his safety and the safety of the whole family. If anyone knew that he had privately drawn a map of the imperial palace, even with the Fan family's relationship with the imperial family, the consequences would be very dire.

"Don't worry, I'll rest for a while, memorize this map right away, and then burn it. No one will know," Fan Xian said, smiling to comfort his sister.

Tears welled up in Fan Ruoruo's eyes, "Brother, why did you draw this map?"

Fan Xian sighed, lowered his head, looked seriously into his sister's eyes, and said, word by word, "Because there's something I want in the imperial palace."

"You're going to steal something from the imperial palace...?" Fan Ruoruo was so shocked that she wanted to scream and quickly covered her mouth.

Fan Xian said seriously, "That's right, but it's not stealing, because that thing was originally mine."

Fan Ruoruo broke free from the shock, immediately regained her usual calm and intelligence, judged the truth of the matter, and said in a low, trembling voice, "Is it related to... Aunt Ye?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, "I can't hide this from you." These simple words were full of the affection and trust between the two siblings. He continued with a smile, "It doesn't matter, what kind of person is your brother? I punch seven-year-olds and kick seventy-year-olds. I stand on a mass grave and shout, 'Anyone who doesn't agree with me, stand up!' But no one dared to say a word, haha."

Ruoruo smiled somewhat awkwardly, feeling that her brother's joke was really not funny. She was still worried, but she knew that Fan Xian was a person with a beautiful and gentle appearance, but in reality, his mind was exceptionally tough and cold. She couldn't persuade him, so she had to let him go and pray at home every day.

"Actually, I'm very selfish," Fan Xian looked at the worry between her eyebrows and suddenly said calmly, reflecting on himself, "Whenever there's something that's very difficult for me to handle alone, I'm willing to tell you. On the surface, it's trust, but in reality, it might just be that I want to find someone to share the pressure. But I never thought that this kind of pressure is actually a greater pain for you. At least I have you to confide in, but who can you talk to? For example, my mother was the mistress of the Ye family, and for example, I'm going to steal something from the imperial palace soon."

Ruoruo gave him a look with a hint of sorrow, "Trust and pressure cancel each other out, I still like that brother doesn't hide anything from me."

—————————————————————————

Negotiations were still underway, and the work of redrawing the boundaries was extremely difficult. Originally, with the support of the analysis report that Fan Xian had submitted, the officials of the Honglu Temple of Qing, who were specifically responsible for the negotiations, were exceptionally tough. Several times, they almost forced the Northern Qi delegation to sign the documents, but for some reason, perhaps something had happened in Northern Qi, the Northern Qi delegation had been shamelessly and even hysterically dragging on, as if waiting for something.

The experienced Vice Minister of the Honglu Temple, Xin Qiwu, immediately smelled this conspiracy. One afternoon, after a negotiation that had made no progress, he held a small teapot, glanced at Fan Xian, and motioned for him to come out with him. Along the way, officials bowed and greeted the two envoys. After finally finding a quiet place, Xin Shaoqing sighed with some fatigue and said, "Lord Fan, do you feel that something is a little abnormal?"

Regarding this negotiation, although Fan Xian held the correct attitude of observation, learning, and gilding, he had participated from beginning to end, so he also felt that the attitude of the Northern Qi delegation had changed somewhat strangely. But if the other party had recently obtained some bargaining chips to rely on, they should have been put on the table by now, and they shouldn't still be dragging on the negotiating table like a rogue.

He thought for a while, and suddenly frowned, "I'm afraid Northern Qi is now trying to obtain some bargaining chips in order to use them at the negotiating table."

Xin Shaoqing looked at him and nodded, "That's what I think too, so tonight I will enter the palace to meet the Emperor, and ask the Emperor to issue an edict, ordering the Fourth Bureau of the Imperial Censorate to assist the Honglu Temple in its work. If we don't find out what the Northern Qi side is thinking, I'm really a little worried."

Fan Xian leaned against the railing, squinted his eyes and pondered, thinking, what does Northern Qi want to obtain? For no reason, a flash of inspiration came to his mind, and he thought of the spy network that the Imperial Censorate had set up in Northern Qi, and he thought of that Yan Bingyun, who had been lurking in Northern Qi for four years.

Not knowing what he was thinking, Xin Shaoqing said softly, "I'm entering the palace tonight, but after all, the things obtained openly are relatively few. Vice Envoy Fan, you can't hide your abilities anymore."

Fan Xian smiled bitterly, thinking that the other party must think that the last file was obtained with the help of his father's secret power, but God knows that he has never been in contact with those forces that his father secretly manages for the Emperor. But after thinking about it, he felt that he really needed to ask about it, at least to ensure the safety of Yan Bingyun in Northern Qi.

That night, in that secret little courtyard, Fan Xian summoned Wang Qinian and told him about his and Xin Shaoqing's worries. Wang Qinian's facial reaction gave Fan Xian some ominous premonitions.

"The Bureau hasn't received an update from the crows in eight days," Wang Qinian's brow was furrowed tightly.

"This kind of news shouldn't be something that your level can know," Fan Xian shook his head with a smile, "But I won't ask how you know, I just want to remind the Bureau through you to pay attention to safety on the Northern Qi side."

Wang Qinian shook his head, "It's all single-line contact, if it's broken, it's difficult to reconnect. Moreover, Master Yan is the head of the Northern Qi secret agents. If something happens to him, it's useless to contact him again."

"In any case, we must remind him to pay attention to safety," a hint of coldness flashed in Fan Xian's eyes. He didn't like abandoning anyone for the sake of national interests, especially that Yan Bingyun, as the son of a high official, who had been lurking for four years and sacrificed a lot. Now, Fan Xian had long regarded himself as a member of the Qing Kingdom, a member of the Imperial Censorate, and naturally, he had an admiration for Yan Bingyun, whom he had never met.

Fan Xian thought of another thing, and looked at Wang Qinian calmly, "I have a mission, but it can't go through the Bureau. I hope to seek your help."

Wang Qinian looked at the master with some confusion.

"It can't be reported to Director Chen," Fan Xian's tone was very calm, but Wang Qinian could hear the coldness mixed in it.

"Yes." As soon as this word came out, Wang Qinian knew that he had bet his entire life on this young master, who seemed gentle but was actually ruthless. As for the Bureau, Director Chen only ordered him to listen to Lord Fan completely, and did not give any other instructions.

……

……

That night, the unfortunate news was finally confirmed. The spy network of the Fourth Bureau of Qing's Imperial Censorate in Northern Qi was fortunate enough to preserve most of it, but what everyone did not expect was that Yan Bingyun, the head of the secret agents, was captured alive by the experts of the Northern Qi Imperial Court in a silk shop in Shangjing, the capital of Northern Qi!

For such incidents, it is generally opened from the lower levels and then traced upwards. It is rare for this kind of thing to happen where the highest level of the spy network is captured in one fell swoop. There is only one possibility for this to happen, and that is that someone in the upper echelons of the Qing Kingdom is colluding with foreign countries.

The news of Yan Bingyun's capture could not be spread, of course. Although it would cause a certain blow to Qing's reputation, it would be even more inconsistent with Northern Qi's interests. Northern Qi needed such a leader to exchange for corresponding benefits, not just to打击敌国士气 (dǎ jī dí guó shì qì - strike at the enemy's morale).

And for the Qing officialdom, the eldest son of Lord Yan Ruohai, who was in charge of the Fourth Bureau of the Imperial Censorate, had already died four years ago. No one knew that he had been sent to Northern Qi by the court.

In these few days, everyone who knew about this matter had not slept well.

In the most secret room of the Honglu Temple, Xin Shaoqing closed his eyes and handed the piece of paper in his hand to Fan Xian. Fan Xian took it and looked at it. It was a painting. The painting was of a thin cloud floating in the high sky above the ice field. This piece of paper was secretly handed to Xin Shaoqing by an inconspicuous figure in the Northern Qi delegation during today's negotiations. At that time, the expression on that person's face almost made Xin Shaoqing draw the sword of his guard and chop him.

The words "Bing Yun" were faintly visible in the painting. It seemed that the Northern Qi delegation had also received this news and was preparing to open the bidding.