A hint of timidity flashed across the Princess Royal's eyes as she said with a worried expression, "It's been four years, and the Overwatch Council still hasn't relaxed. I'm really afraid that one day they'll find out... I heard that Lord Chen Pingping has returned home for a visit and refuses to return to the capital. If... he's really content to retire, that would be great."

"Not necessarily," the Empress said coldly. "Don't forget that four years ago, it was Chen Pingping who entered the palace and spoke with the Emperor for a night that made him withdraw the decree of betrothal. Recently, Chen Pingping returned to his hometown, and Fan Jian took the opportunity to enter the palace. The Emperor then betrothed Chen'er to Fan Xian and made it clear that you should no longer be involved in the affairs of the Imperial Treasury... If Chen Pingping is currently in Kyoto, I'm afraid this marriage will change, and perhaps it will truly be as you wish... or rather, as the Prime Minister wishes."

The Princess Royal covered her mouth and smiled, saying, "Your Majesty is saying, if this marriage doesn't happen, you should be happy. After all, the Second Prince will have one less avenue for making money."

The Empress smiled slightly. "What do I have to be happy about? In the end, this is just a marriage between two children. Whether it succeeds or not has little to do with me... The Empress Dowager also said that I can take care of the children's marriages in the future, but I won't worry about the Fan family's affairs."

The Princess Royal's expression changed slightly, but she still smiled and said, "What Your Majesty says makes sense. Then, as a mother, I have even less reason to be anxious. Although that Fan Xian doesn't have a very honorable background, he seems to have some talent these days. Besides, Chen'er's spirits seem to have improved these days, maybe it's really because a happy event is approaching and bringing benefits."

The two most powerful women in Qing Yu Nian were sitting quietly, drinking tea and chatting idly, as if nothing had happened. Neither was willing to loosen their defenses, and neither was willing to do that thing—kill Fan Xian. The marriage would naturally fall through, the Fan family would lack successors, the Second Prince would have no support, the Prime Minister would be able to rest easy, and the Princess Royal would still be sickly in charge of the Imperial Treasury, providing a constant stream of money for those in need—if only one person died, it seemed that the dilemma surrounding the power distribution in the Imperial Palace would be easily resolved.

But precisely because of this, no one was willing to take action. After all, this was not four years ago, and Kyoto was not Danzhou. There were countless eyes here, and even the people inside the Imperial Palace could no longer use assassination to deal with a minister's son, especially during such a sensitive period. Moreover... after all, Liu Shi would not step into the same dirty ditch twice in her life.

In the Empress Dowager's palace, the seemingly venerable old woman lowered her white hair, feeling the steady hands behind her combing her hair, and said in a low voice, "Why did I give birth to such a stupid daughter?"

The person behind her smiled and said, "But you still dote on the Princess Royal the most. Otherwise, you wouldn't have let the Emperor make such arrangements in the first place, and you wouldn't have secretly done so many things for the Prime Minister."

The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "Lin Ruofu, I really don't know if he wronged my daughter or if my daughter harmed him... By the way, your old dog eyes are sharp. Tell me, why did the Emperor let that Fan family boy marry Chen'er?"

The person's voice was somewhat hesitant. "The Princess is also of marriageable age, and her health is indeed difficult to improve. It's appropriate to give her to the Fan family. However, the marriage is only the surface of things. The key lies in His Majesty's ambiguous decree. Such a large fortune is to be managed by someone with a different surname. Could it be... that His Majesty feels that the Empress and the Princess Royal are too close, and that he is truly dissatisfied with the Crown Prince, so he is stripping the Princess Royal of her power and preparing to let the Sec..." He suddenly realized that although he had served the Empress Dowager for decades, he had expressed too many opinions on this matter, so he stopped speaking.

The Empress Dowager was slightly startled, and the heavy wrinkles on her face, like chrysanthemum petals, gradually spread out as she said, "The Emperor manages state affairs, and I manage family affairs, so I won't interfere with this matter."

The person flattered, "The Empress Dowager is wise."

——————————————————————————

"What you did was very unwise," Si Nan Earl Fan Jian said coldly, looking at his son in the study.

Fan Xian smiled wryly. He knew during the day that he would not escape this round of questioning. Without much explanation, he honestly admitted his mistake.

"You're not a fool. There are no powerful figures around Guo Baokun either. If you really wanted to beat him up to vent your anger, why would you reveal so many flaws?" Without waiting for Fan Xian to explain, Si Nan Earl said coldly, "Don't say anything like, 'Beating someone without announcing your name is like not venting your anger at all!' That's nonsense!"

Fan Xian knew that it was Liu Shi who had told his father what he had said during the day, and he smiled a little embarrassedly. Seeing the completely innocent smile on his face, Fan Jian couldn't get angry no matter what. He sighed and said, "Tell me, what was the point of making such a scene?"

Fan Xian thought for a moment and replied, "First, I had a drink with the Heir of Jing Prince last night and felt that he was a friend worth making. By using the fight as an excuse, I tied him to myself. In the future, with the Jing Prince Mansion as a backer, it will be easier to do anything." After saying this, he secretly glanced at his father's eyes and, finding nothing unusual, continued, "Second, Guo Baokun is too bullying. I have to let him know that I'm not to be trifled with."

Fan Jian sneered and said, "The second reason is plausible, but I think the most important reason... is that you're resisting that marriage from the bottom of your heart, so you want to ruin your reputation and let the palace kick you out."

Fan Xian didn't expect that he hadn't hidden anything from his father at all. He was slightly stunned, wondering how to explain.

Fan Jian said coldly, "And the reason I said you weren't smart earlier is because you dragged the Jing Prince into it. You should know that the Guo family is on the Crown Prince's side, while the Heir of Jing Prince is on the Second Prince's side. If you beat up Guo Baokun and pulled in the Heir of Jing Prince, wouldn't others say that our Fan family has already sided with the Second Prince?"

Fan Xian pretended to be surprised and said, "Everyone in Qing Yu Nian knows that Father and Prince Jing have a good relationship, and my sister and Princess Roujia have been friends since childhood. The close relationship between the two families can even be said to be an anomaly in the officialdom. Could it be... you...?"

"Don't forget that your grandmother was His Majesty's wet nurse back then, and she brought up this Prince Jing as well. At that time, His Majesty was busy with other things, so I took him to play. Naturally, the relationship between the two families is extremely good," Fan Jian snorted. "But personal relationships are personal relationships, official duties are official duties, and state affairs are state affairs. How can we, as ministers, discuss the affairs of the palace? The Crown Prince is still the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the nation. If His Majesty passes away one day, our Fan family will naturally be loyal to the Crown Prince."

Fan Xian heard the flaw in these words and said with a smile, "What if the Crown Prince isn't the Crown Prince anymore?"

Strangely enough, hearing his son say such rebellious words, Si Nan Earl Fan Jian was not at all surprised, nor did he reprimand him. He only said indifferently, "That's for His Majesty to decide. Anyone who takes a stand before His Majesty makes a decision is making a mistake."

"This child understands," Fan Xian finally obtained the result he wanted after beating up Guo Baokun. "The Fan family doesn't stand on the Crown Prince's side, nor does it stand on the Second Prince's side, but only stands on... His Majesty's side."

"That's right," Fan Jian said coldly. "If you don't want to stand on the wrong side, don't rush to take a stand. And as long as you always stand on the side of the strongest, you will never make a mistake. And in this entire world, the strongest is naturally His Majesty."

"What if His Majesty passes away?" Fan Xian looked at his father with ill intent, knowing that he was truly loyal to that Emperor.

"His Majesty is in his prime and younger than me," Fan Jian smiled. "The future is a matter for the future, a matter for your generation."

……

……

"Do you know how many times we secretly crossed swords with the Guo family in the imperial court today in order to let you walk out of the court easily? The Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Personnel—everywhere you could see the shadows of our two families. The Guo family even found the Overwatch Council in the end. If Chen Pingping wasn't away, you might not have been able to come back today."

"Chen Pingping?" Fan Xian frowned. He was very familiar with this name and knew that he was the person in power over the dark forces of the entire Qing Yu Nian. But knowing the close relationship between the Fan family and the Overwatch Council, he was a little puzzled. "Why wouldn't I be able to come back if Chen Pingping was here?"

"Because he opposes you marrying the Princess Royal's daughter," Fan Jian said coldly. "The reason you were urgently summoned to the capital this time is because Chen Pingping returned home for a visit and couldn't speak in front of His Majesty, so you were brought to the capital to quickly confirm this marriage, not entirely because of that girl's illness."

Fan Xian looked at his father and asked, "Fei Jie is my teacher, and your relationship with Director Chen has always been close. Why would he oppose it?"

"That's not right. To outsiders, there's not a very deep connection between me and the Overwatch Council," Fan Jian said indifferently. "As for why he would oppose it, it's very simple. Because on certain issues, I have disagreements with him, which lead to completely different judgments."

"What kind of views?" Fan Xian stared into his father's eyes, not wavering in the slightest.

Fan Jian frowned and finally decided to tell his child part of the truth. "His Majesty doesn't like the Crown Prince, but the Empress is close to the Princess Royal, and the Princess Royal is in charge of the Imperial Treasury's money in and out. This is a slush fund, and it's easy to take money out of it. This fact makes His Majesty very uneasy."

Fan Xian was shocked and said, "So... His Majesty is afraid of changes in the Eastern Palace?"