Maintaining his inhumanly cold and calm demeanor, Yan Bingyun was indeed an exceptionally skilled intelligence operative. Yet, the burst of anger he displayed in that instant proved his authority and control as the chief of Qing's covert spies in Northern Qi. Faced with the furious flames in the prisoner's eyes, even Fan Xian instinctively wanted to recoil.

Yan Bingyun's lips trembled twice as he leaned close to Fan Xian's ear, his voice extremely low and his words rapid, like a string of exploding firecrackers: "Is Xiao En still under control?"

Fan Xian shook his head and whispered, "After Mist Ferry, he was handed over to the Northern Qi Imperial Guards. He's probably already entered the capital."

"Is there any way to kill him?"

"No."

"Has the secret in his mouth been extracted?"

Fan Xian stiffened, drawing away slightly from Yan Bingyun. He looked at the other man with calm eyes and asked, "You know the secret in his mouth?"

Yan Bingyun gazed at the young Director of the Supervisory Council before him, a strange smile flickering at the corner of his lips. "I spent four years in Northern Qi. Of course, I know the Northern Qi royal family has always been preoccupied with Xiao En. Although I don't know the specific details of that secret, since the Northern Qi royal family values it so highly, it must be significant."

After a pause, Yan Bingyun suddenly said, "Do you know who Xiao En is?"

Fan Xian nodded, smiling. "I believe I know more clearly than anyone else."

Yan Bingyun cursed in a rapid voice, "Since you know, how could you allow this to happen?"

Fan Xian looked at him calmly and said slowly, "His Majesty and Director Chen's meaning is very clear. Xiao En is old, you are young. Therefore, this transaction is actually in our favor."

Yan Bingyun fell silent again. He had not expected that, because of him, the Southern Qing court would be willing to use Xiao En in exchange. But this fact made the Northern Qi intelligence chief feel a sense of defeat. Being captured alive by the Northern Qi Imperial Guards was already a humiliation. Now that the court had to pay such a high price, it was undoubtedly an even greater humiliation.

He was disappointed. His body, shrouded in the white robe, seemed to shrink in on itself.

Fan Xian watched him calmly and said, "You are a smart man. Since the matter is already settled, you must return safely to the South. Only then will we not lose too much."

Yan Bingyun was coldly silent, knowing that the newly appointed Director of the Supervisory Council had spoken the most correct piece of nonsense.

"Three days from now, I'll be waiting for you in the delegation."

Fan Xian smiled and walked out side by side with Wang Qinian. Accompanied by Wei Hua, who had been waiting outside the door, and the Deputy Pacification Envoy, he got into the carriage and returned directly to the delegation.

After returning to the delegation, the Qing officials gathered together to review the events of the past few days, then dispersed. Only Fan Xian and Wang Qinian remained. Fan Xian rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought, and did not speak for a long while.

Wang Qinian asked solicitously, "Lord Fan, what are you thinking about?"

"Why would that Miss Shen appear there?" Fan Xian yawned, and then said, "This may be Northern Qi's attempt to disrupt our plans, at least to weaken the court's trust in Yan Bingyun."

"How could it be?" Wang Qinian asked, puzzled. "The court is naturally aware of the methods Lord Yan uses."

"Things always become complicated." Fan Xian said expressionlessly, "If someone is intent on doing something, this could be a weak point... Also, I still don't understand. Tell me, Lao Wang, why, when we went to see Lord Yan, even though he can return home, I couldn't see a trace of happiness on his face?"

"Because the court paid too great a price for his return." Wang Qinian was an old member of the Supervisory Council and knew more about these strange figures in the Council than Fan Xian did. He said respectfully, "If Lord Yan knew that the court would use Xiao En to exchange for him, perhaps he would have chosen to commit suicide at the beginning of his capture, rather than waiting until now."

Fan Xian seemed to find it difficult to understand the psychological state of these Supervisory Council officials, and frowned. "Could it be... an excellent Supervisory Council official... truly..." He deliberated for a long time before choosing his words carefully and asked, "Truly so willing to sacrifice himself for the country?"

"Yes." Wang Qinian stole a glance at Fan Xian, and seeing only bewilderment on the Director's face, he respectfully said, "This subordinate admires Lord Yan very much, but as a Supervisory Council official, or rather, as a court spy, one should be prepared to sacrifice oneself for the country from the moment they enter the Council. The Council's spies only believe in one saying: for that purpose, any means, any sacrifice is permissible."

"What purpose?"

"Everything for Qing." A hint of fervent ardor appeared on Wang Qinian's face.

…

…

Fan Xian's fingers unconsciously wrote something on the table. He had met Yan Bingyun for the first time today and noticed that the other man sat still on that chair, and his posture was strange, like a flagpole. Except for his buttocks, no other part of his body touched the chair. It was not until he was leaving that Fan Xian realized that the other man's feet were chained to the chair, and there could only be one explanation for Yan Bingyun's posture.

Every inch of Yan Bingyun's skin was damaged, covered with rotting flesh, which was why he had chosen that posture.

"Everything for Qing?" Fan Xian's brow furrowed even more. "So they're all idealists."

--------------------------------------------------

The Qing court's official documents were delivered to the delegation through official channels. Naturally, there were no secrets in the letter, only that the Northern Qi Empress Dowager's birthday was approaching, and the court ordered the delegation to postpone its return to the country, to complete this important matter before returning home.

This was not a major event. In diplomatic relations between the two countries, encountering the Empress Dowager's birthday always required joining in the festivities. Moreover, being in Shangjing, Fan Xian still had some matters to handle, so he was naturally happy to stay for a few more days, but he always felt some concern when he thought of his beautiful wife and weak younger sister at home.

"The Empress Dowager's birthday. We represent the dignity of the court, so the gifts cannot be too shabby." Deputy Envoy Lin Jing pondered, "Otherwise, should we ask one of the officials below to take a stroll down Embroidery Creek Street (Xiu Shui Jie)?"

Upon hearing the words "Embroidery Creek Street," Fan Xian thought of the letter that the wine-selling Boss Sheng had handed him and shook his head repeatedly. The waters of Shangjing were deep enough as it was, and Princess Chang was still trying to remotely orchestrate internal chaos in a foreign country. Fan Xian would definitely not meddle in such murky waters.

"Then what should we send?" Lin Jing began to worry about the issue of gift-giving at the palace banquet.

Fan Xian had already made up his mind, and he waved his hand and said, "I'll write a poem then, and have it framed nicely." These words sounded arrogant, but the subordinates around him nodded repeatedly. It was a well-known fact that the poetry immortal Fan Xian did not write poetry. If Fan Xian made an exception for the birthday of the Northern Qi Empress Dowager, it would be a great honor.

However... Fan Xian's calligraphy was truly unsightly.

Wang Qinian began to offer bad advice again: "Lord Yan's identity in Northern Qi is that of a great talented man, skilled in chess, zither, calligraphy, and painting. His calligraphy is inherited from Grandmaster Pan Ling. A few years ago, over in Northern Qi, a hanging scroll of his could be sold for a thousand taels of silver. Lord Fan composes the poem, Lord Yan writes it out. Two great young talents of Qing act, wouldn't that make the Northern Qi Empress Dowager grin from ear to ear?"

Lin Jing and Lin Wen knew that Wang Qinian was Director Fan's confidant and thought that this suggestion was not bad. They naturally knew Lord Yan's identity now, but they felt something was strange, yet they couldn't figure out where the strangeness lay.

Fan Xian laughed and cursed, "Who is Lord Yan? I'm afraid everyone in Northern Qi wishes they could devour his flesh and drink his blood. You actually suggest that he write a scroll to give to the Empress Dowager as a birthday gift. Aren't you afraid that the Empress Dowager will be angered to death after opening the scroll and the palace will turn into a memorial service?"

Wang Qinian was embarrassed and only then realized that his suggestion was indeed absurd. He smiled sheepishly and said, "If we could anger the Northern Qi Empress Dowager to death, that would be a good story for the Council."

Fan Xian was too lazy to pay attention to the middle-aged man's boring, cold joke. He fell into deep thought. It was clear that if Yan Bingyun returned safely to Qing, relying on the foundation he had laid in Northern Qi over the past four years and his imprisonment over the past year, Young Master Yan would immediately rise within the Supervisory Council. His father, Yan Ruohai, was the Director of the Fourth Bureau, and the position of head of the First Bureau had always been left vacant. People within the Council knew that Director Chen had reserved the position of head of the First Bureau for the imprisoned Yan Bingyun.

And if there were no accidents, he himself would gradually begin to take over everything in the Supervisory Council—after Chen Pingping died. And Fan Xian knew very well that that day might be far away, or it might be very near, very near.

If Fan Xian himself wanted to firmly control the Supervisory Council in his hands, then the eight Bureaus were personnel he had to control, but this was Fan Xian's greatest weakness. Except for the Third and Eighth Bureaus, he basically had no close confidants in the Supervisory Council. He had originally thought that this trip to the north could win Yan Bingyun's friendship and thus gain the support of the First and Fourth Bureaus, but he had not expected that at their first meeting, Fan Xian could clearly feel that Yan Bingyun seemed to have some faint hostility towards him.

Why was this? Fortunately, Yan Bingyun did not seem to want to hide this hostility, which made Fan Xian feel slightly relieved.

"Lord, the time has come." Wang Qinian whispered beside him.

Fan Xian nodded, got up, and left the other courtyard. Behind him, the Lin brothers, Lin Jing and Lin Wen, looked at each other, wondering where the Director was going today.

Outside the courtyard, a member of the Changning Marquis's family was waiting. Certain figures in the palace had already spoken, so the Imperial Guards responsible for the delegation's security tacitly allowed those people dressed in brocade to take over their work, escorting the carriage towards the most prosperous Taiping Alley in Northern Qi's Shangjing. Fine rain fell from the sky, instantly swallowing the traces of the convoy's passage.

Fan Xian, the Director of the Qing Kingdom's Supervisory Council, was going to meet with Shen Zhong, the Commander of the Northern Qi Imperial Guards. The meeting of intelligence chiefs always seemed incredibly mysterious.