The study in the Count Sinan’s residence did not smell of the iron rust of impending palace intrigue.

Fan Jian smiled, thinking that although the boy in front of him was clever, his experience in political struggles was indeed too little. It seemed he needed to be taught slowly in the future: "His Majesty has spent his entire life on horseback, how could he be afraid of these things? It's just that he doesn't want to see father and son turn against each other, so he's using this matter to warn the Empress Dowager Party."

The Empress Dowager Party? As it seemed, it was the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Eldest Princess… or even the Prime Minister. Fan Xian continued to ask, "His Majesty should have better ways to resolve this matter. You once said that the Internal Treasury's assets are always supervised by the Supervisory Council, so why choose me?"

"It's simple." Fan Jian looked at him, but his gaze seemed to reach a distant place, as if looking at another person, "Because I suggested he choose you."

Fan Xian raised an eyebrow, knowing that his father would not explain further, so he turned to ask, "Then why would Chen Pingping object?"

"Because he advised His Majesty not to choose you." Fan Jian said, "Chen Pingping has always believed that you should walk a different path."

Even the Director of the Supervisory Council cared so much about him! Fan Xian suddenly thought of the stone tablet at the entrance of the Supervisory Council, and finally couldn't help but ask the intense question in his heart, "Why… at the entrance of the Supervisory Council…"

"Is your mother's name there? It's simple, the Qing Kingdom originally didn't have a Supervisory Council. Your mother said back then, there should be a Supervisory Council…" Fan Jian laughed, seeming very pleased, "So, the Qing Kingdom had a Supervisory Council."

Fan Xian's heart was beating faster than a kangaroo, his mouth wide open, unable to recover for a long time, thinking of a familiar phrase from his previous life – God said, let there be light, and there was light!

……

……

The conversation between father and son continued. Today was the first time Fan Xian learned what kind of terrifying power the Ye family had back then. When the Qing Kingdom's eastern and western expeditions plunged it into a financial crisis, it was the Ye family that single-handedly propped up the precarious court. And the Supervisory Council, which currently terrified officials and was used by His Majesty to "unite" the entire Qing Kingdom's power, was actually suggested by his mother, and from the initial establishment of the institution to the huge expenditures, it was all handled and provided by his mother alone.

No wonder Ye Qingmei's name was written at the entrance of the Supervisory Council, no wonder he had grown up under the watchful eyes of the Supervisory Council since he was a child – Fan Xian stared at his father for a long time, shook his head, and sighed, "Father, let me say something, don't be angry."

"Don't worry, when have I ever lost my temper with you?" Fan Jian seemed to have guessed what he was going to say, with a strange smile on his face.

Fan Xian thought for a moment about how to phrase it, and finally realized he didn't know how to organize his words. He smiled wryly and said directly, "I really suspect now… how your old mom saw you."

"Hahahaha, don't forget your mother's name…" Count Sinan, Fan Jian, hadn't seemed to laugh so happily in many years. He waved his hand, letting him leave the study.

Fan Xian walked into the garden, wondering what this meant. Suddenly, he understood: Ye Qingmei, Ye Qingmei… looked down on all the heroes in the world.

——————————————————————

"Father didn't scold you, did he?" Fan Ruoruo looked at her brother worriedly. In fact, she and Fan Xian didn't look alike. The only things they had in common were their long eyelashes and fair skin.

Fan Xian smiled wryly, "Scolding isn't the most terrible part of education. The most terrible thing is actually a long-term ideological exchange. Parents always think they should have ideological dialogues with their children, but they don't know that it's the most unbearable thing… when you're young and full of vigor, you're forced to get close to a musty shroud."

He was thinking about what he had just seen. When he passed the Flower Hall, he saw Fan Sizhe listening to Madam Liu's lecture with an impatient expression. Madam Liu stopped talking after she saw him. He brazenly brought Fan Sizhe over.

Fan Ruoruo sighed, "There's no way around it." She suddenly thought of the case that had been the talk of the capital today and asked curiously, "Brother, you once said that if you do something you don't want to do, there must be a clear and powerful reason behind it. There must be a reason why you went to the Kyoto Prefecture to file a lawsuit today."

Fan Xian nodded.

Fan Ruoruo didn't ask what the reason was, but asked, "Did you get the result you wanted?"

Fan Xian smiled and said, "It's quite satisfactory. At least I know how Father stands in the court, and I know that the Fan family's influence in the court is much greater than I imagined. As for the reason you can guess, I don't know the effect. After all, I can't turn into a mosquito to eavesdrop on the conversations of those big shots in the palace."

Fan Ruoruo scolded him gently, "You shouldn't take such risks for these things."

Fan Xian smiled and explained, "Anyway, I was determined to beat that little rascal named Guo. It's also good to see how deep the water is in Kyoto."

"Hey! I don't understand!" Fan Sizhe, who had been listening for a long time, finally couldn't help but shout.

Fan Ruoruo smiled and took out a ruler. Fan Sizhe yelled, "You'll hit me even if I don't understand?" Fan Ruoruo's smile was oppressive: "How many times have I told you, call him Eldest Brother."

"I know I was wrong, Eldest Brother." Fan Sizhe was young, but his bones were filled with the thinking of a cunning merchant, so he absolutely wouldn't suffer a loss right in front of him.

Fan Xian looked at him amusingly, "I looked at your revised business plan today and I think you have some talent. How can you not even understand what your sister and I are saying?"

Fan Sizhe shouted angrily, "What's a shroud, or an education segment? Who knows you have so many strange words… but I understood the last sentence." He said resentfully, "Hey… I was wrong, Eldest Brother, that bastard Guo bullied me in the restaurant last time. You should have hit him a long time ago, why did you wait until last night to hit him… no matter what, you have to take me with you next time there's something so fun and exciting."

Fan Xian looked at him with a wry smile, thinking, don't you always want to play the role of a street bully?

When the two siblings were talking, they didn't avoid Fan Sizhe, who was rolling his eyes beside them. This was Fan Xian's decision. On the one hand, it was to let Madam Liu clearly know what he was thinking, so as to avoid accidental misunderstandings caused by poor information exchange in the future, just like military exchanges between the United States and China in his previous life. Each side had to send an observer during exercises, didn't they? Fan Sizhe was naturally the observer. On the other hand, it was to gradually acclimate this naughty younger brother… to the atmosphere of the three treasures of the Fan family. Fan Xian believed that certain habits cultivated by osmosis would make some people think more about the bright side before making certain decisions.

After Fan Sizhe went to sleep, Fan Xian turned to ask his sister, "Did you make the appointment?"

Fan Ruoruo nodded and smiled charmingly, "What if someone recognizes you? If people in Kyoto know that you're so anxious to see the new bride, they'll probably laugh to death… and maybe it'll make a lot of people unhappy."

"I don't care." Fan Xian waved his hand irritably, "I have to confirm this matter first."

———————————————————————————

Early in the morning, the Kyoto Garrison Commander’s Ye residence's carriage stopped in front of the Count Sinan’s residence. Ye Ling'er waited anxiously in the carriage. After a while, Fan Ruoruo led a sallow-faced, slightly hunchbacked young man out of the residence. Ye Ling'er's eyes lit up and she went up to greet them.

Ye Ling'er curtsied and said, "Thank you, Miss Fan." Then she turned to the slightly hunchbacked young man and asked with a smile, "Is the gentleman Master Fei's student?"

The young man smiled, his sallow complexion coupled with the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, making him look unwell. He cupped his hands in reply, "Indeed."

Ye Ling'er said, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."

The young doctor smiled and replied politely, "The patient is important, let's go quickly."

Ye Ling'er and Fan Ruoruo got into the first carriage, and the young doctor got into the second carriage behind. He sat in the seat and found that the carriage was extremely spacious, very different from the common styles in Kyoto. There were no extra decorations inside, so it seemed that the Ye residence was ultimately from the battlefield and always had a stern air. The young doctor was naturally Fan Xian. He got up early this morning and put on makeup with Ruoruo's eyebrow pencil and foundation. This was some superficial knowledge he had learned from Fei Jie when he was a child, but the effect seemed to be good.

In fact, his confidence was mainly because he believed that he had a little fame in Kyoto, but very few people had actually seen him, at least Ye Ling'er and Miss Lin had never seen him. Thinking of Miss Lin, whom he was about to see, Fan Xian's heart rate suddenly accelerated. No matter what his plans were in the future, the other party was nominally his fiancée, and the girl in white he had always had in his heart was obviously from a wealthy family. Wanting one wife and one concubine was basically impossible. It seemed he had to make a choice.

As the carriage moved forward, Fan Xian became more and more nervous. Because the direction the carriage was heading was the royal villa, where that Miss Lin - his fiancée, was currently living. It was absurd for him to impersonate a doctor today, but when he thought of chicken legs, the Ye family, and - the so-called wife, the role who will breathe face to face with you on the pillow for the rest of your life, Fan Xian couldn't help but be careful and cautious, yet bold and absurd, just like he thought before coming to Kyoto. No matter what, he had to take a look first. Is she cute? Is she pretty? Is she a loli?