Chapter 64 – Making a Mistake

After Fan Wusi heard He Zongwei’s words that held a chill, he slowly lowered his head without any overly obvious reaction, and after a long moment of silence, he said in a low voice, “Before reporting to His Majesty, Your Excellency should think of another way to investigate a little more clearly.”

“This is natural. Well, it’s late at night, you go rest first.” He Zongwei said casually, waved his hand, and picked up the case file on the table again.

Fan Wusu glanced at He Zongwei, a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes, bowed, and took his leave. When he walked out of the study, He Zongwei immediately put down the case file in his hands and looked in the direction of the door in silence, falling into deep thought.

For this Second Prince’s trusted eight family members to come and join himself, He Zongwei was initially very slightly scornful, after all, not a few people in Kyoto knew the identity of Fan Wusu, if people found out about this in the future, and then passed it on to the palace, I don’t know what His Majesty the Emperor would think.

Back then, the second prince was a member of the conspiracy rebellion, and it was indeed a bit risky for He Zongwei to take in his old subordinates.

Only at first he quickly made a decision, after all, Fan Wusu has his own ability, when the mighty name secretly spread in Kyoto rivers and lakes of the eight generals, although in the front of the Supervisory Yuan, seemingly unbeatable, in fact, are some very powerful characters, the second prince at first in the dynasty management for so long, to stay around the cronies, of course, is the most excellent.

In addition to Fan Wu Sheng’s own ability, He Zongwei retained him for two other very important reasons, firstly, this person and his goal is the same, are to deal with Fan Xian, and secondly, this person also holds some of the resources that the second prince left behind in the first place.

The second prince had already died three years ago, and his power in the dynasty had long been swept away by the emperor and Fan Xian, but there were still some officials hidden in the lower levels of the court who were secretly waiting for the right time, whether it was the right time to avenge their master’s death or the right time to find a new master and see the light of day.

He Zongwei needs these people, these people also need the court He Daoshi, but He Zongwei can not personally face to collect these forces, must be through Fan Wu Sheng, so that he can make himself in front of his majesty to appear a little clean.

In the final analysis, He Zongwei is now walking on a lonely steel rope, both sides are endless abyss. It was very dangerous.

Not long after Fan Wu Sheng left the study, the He clan cousin who had left earlier quietly returned. The two of them glanced at each other, both seeing that look in each other’s eyes. He Zongwei smiled gently and said, “Go and find out the whereabouts of Wang Qinian and Gouda, and don’t use those people left behind by the Second Highness.”

The man gave an extremely respectful salute and responded, “I understand. As soon as Your Excellency and Mr. Fan spoke earlier, my subordinate was clear.”

He Zongwei nodded appreciatively and said, “There are some things that are inconvenient for Mr. Fan to know.”

There were many things that were inconvenient for Fan Wu Sheng to know. Previously, Fan Wusiwei discussed with He Zongwei that if he wanted to bring down Fan Xian, he had to start from the possibly alive Wang Qinian and Gouda, just with the power left behind by He Zongwei and the second prince of that year, it was simply impossible to pierce through the layers of the black fog of the Supervisory Yuan and find the real clues, so Fan Wusiwei suggested to He Zongwei that he should face the saint directly, spelling out his majesty’s suspicions and causing the inner court to take action.

But the problem was that He Zongwei had a force under his hand, a force bestowed upon him by His Majesty, a force that no one knew about.

His Majesty trusted Chen Pingping beyond measure and favored Fan Xian beyond measure, however, the power of the Supervisory Court was too great, and if it was only checked and balanced from the outside, an emperor would certainly not be at ease, which is why there was a Ministry of the Interior back then, and the palace must have planted quite a few close friends within the Supervisory Court.

Regarding this kind of thing, I believe that Chen Pingping and Fan Xian are both well aware of it, but there is just no need to pick things apart with the emperor, they are just defending themselves in the dark.

Since the Duzha Academy is going to fight with the Supervisory Yuan, the nails that the inner court, or the Ministry of the Interior had planted within the Supervisory Yuan back then, after three years, have been slowly transferred from Eunuch Yao’s side, to He Zongwei’s hands. This force, which was darker than the night, was now in the hands of none other than this clan brother of He Zongwei.

After pondering for a moment, He Zongwei said, “Check from the periphery, if the Supervisory Court is still associated with Wang Qinian, there must be traces, but don’t let these people know what exactly they are checking.”

“What if His Majesty knows that His Excellency is looking into things and asks about it?”

“His Majesty won’t care about such trivial matters.” He Zongwei slightly lowered his head and said, “After we find out, we will report it to His Majesty and ask him to decide.”

Of course, if He Zongwei grasped this important matter that might stir up the relationship between His Majesty and Fan Xian, he would definitely not quietly and secretly report it to His Majesty and give His Majesty and Fan Xian a chance to negotiate in private, but would instead try to do everything he could to make a big deal out of it.

That person knew clearly the hidden meaning of He Zongwei’s words, and did not say much, saying directly, “I will certainly live up to Your Excellency’s expectations.”

The study returned to silence once again, and He Zongwei sat behind the desk, unable to help but shake his head. He didn’t have any scribes, but there were always a couple of division figures, but those division figures were strictly forbidden to enter the back garden, and in this study, no one dared to go near it except for his close associates. He knew that if he could really trust Fan Wu Sheng, then this matter would definitely proceed a little easier.

It was just that there was no way for him to completely trust Fan Wu Sheng, especially since the other party was now appearing in front of his eyes in the guise of a schemer.

With regard to people like schemers, He Zongwei had always kept the greatest suspicion in his heart. Many years ago, he managed to make a fortune because he brought down Lin Ruofu, but in reality, he knew clearly that the downfall of the former prime minister had nothing much to do with himself, it was His Majesty’s intention, and the one who really carried it out and dealt the heaviest blow to the phase master, was the incredibly handsome and spunky looking schemer in the middle of the phase house – Yuan Hongdao.

Back then, He Zongwei, with Wu Bo’an’s wife, was living in this old imperial envoy’s mansion, and it was that Yuan Hongdao that he dealt with when he was ordered by the Princess to contact the interior of the Sangfu.

He knew what kind of menacing stab that schemer called Yuan Hongdao had made in this matter. The truth that was slowly revealed some years ago shocked him even more, this Yuan Hongdao was actually someone from the Supervisory Yuan!

Supervisory Yuan!

He Zongwei’s heart has a touch of cold, he is very afraid of the power of the Supervisory Yuan, although his hands are now also in the hands of the Supervisory Yuan internal certain personnel, but the more he understands about the Supervisory Yuan, the more he is afraid, he is afraid of his own residence’s florist is the spies of the Supervisory Yuan’s one place, he is afraid of the chubby servant is the assassin of the sixth place, he is afraid of the food that he eats every day has a chronic poison in it that is put down by the three places ……

He was afraid that even Fan Wou Shuai, the schemer left behind by the second prince, might also be from the Supervisory Yuan, and might, in the future, stab the hardest knife into his own body.

He wanted to deal with Fan Xian, so he was even more afraid of Fan Xian dealing with himself. It had been several years now, he was respected by all in the imperial court, but when he returned to his residence, he was immersed in an unhealthy mood of panic and unease, and he always felt that everyone he saw in his residence could be someone sent by the Supervisory Yuan.

That is why the He Mansion does not have too many servants and maids, he uses very few people, even if he is forced to use people, he would rather go through a lot of trouble, from his hometown, looking for those brothers in the clan. He didn’t think that this would earn him the name of Qingqian.

He Zongwei sometimes even felt that he was about to be driven crazy and insane by this tension! But he couldn’t go crazy, he had to gain the final victory, he had already found the faint but piercing fish-belly white in the dark sky.

He pushed open the door and stood alone under the corridor, his face was a little bitter, his mood was unusually heavy, occasionally thinking of that woman, his eyes even more added a few points of pain.

No one knows what kind of torment He Daoshi’s heart is suffering, and no one thinks he is a person about to go crazy, but in the Sun House birthday banquet past a few days, the civil and military officials in the court, and even know some of the scholars and the people, all know that He Daoshi in this battle lost, and lost very completely.

His Majesty the Emperor did not invent a decree, but allowed He Zongwei to handle the matter of Kyoto Prefect on his own, obviously wanting to use this matter to establish the position of He Da Daoshi’s authority in the imperial court, but did not expect, Fan Xian came back from the city of Dongyi, drank a cup of wine, went to the palace to quarrel, and also went to the Imperial College for a visit, and then He Daoshi’s outstretched hand was directly knocked back!

No one would be surprised to hear about Dr. He’s loss of face as well as his defeat; after all, the opponent he was facing this time was not the six ministers of the imperial court, nor were they the sons of the powerful and noble people of the past, but Fan Xian.

It had become the consensus of the entire world that if Fan Xian didn’t do anything, as long as he made up his mind to do something, he would always be able to do it.

And it was obvious that His Majesty did not have too good a plan for this bastard, after all, it was only a Kyoto prefect, His Majesty could not really turn his back on his favorite bastard.

The old officials sent by the Ministry of Revenue to check the accounts left the Kyoto Prefecture in some distress, and the secret investigations by the Ministry of Appointments and the Ministry of Justice were also terminated resentfully under the strong pressure from the mountain peaks, while on the side of the Central Academy under the Door, Hu Daoshi, although he didn’t issue any words, he also reminded all the ministers and workers gently in front of He Zongwei, which was light, but quite heavy.

Kyoto is clear.

It was well past the April festival of Qingming, and the spring light was a bright time. Fan Xian, dressed in civilian clothes, sat on his horse, pointing the willow tip straight to the east, laughing and talking about something with the officials beside him who were seeing him off.

He had beaten He Zongwei once more, and had gained the upper hand in his quarrel with His Majesty the Emperor, at least ensuring that his side’s power would not be cut down too much in a short period of time. Fan Xian was indeed in a good mood, even though he was about to embark on his journey again, heading to that medicinal-smelling sword hut in Dongyi City to fry, he was still in a good mood.

After exchanging pleasantries with the officials who were seeing him off, and accepting a large basket of horse’s ass, as well as those who secretly spoke coldly and sourly about He Zongwei, Fan Xian’s face remained unchanged, and he exited the Leiting Pavilion, dismounted from his steed, and still hid in his own black carriage.

The surroundings were already clear, but there was another person in the carriage. Yan Bingyun looked at him and suddenly opened his mouth, “There are already signs of unrest over in Dong Yi City, do you really not want me to go and suppress it?”

“I’ll bring the Black Riders into the city this time.” Fan Xian’s brows welled up with faint sorrow as he said, “And the old dean will be returning to his hometown in a few days, so you’ll be here to take a look for me, and if even you leave with me, who in Kyoto will make the decision for the academy?”

Yan Bingyun was extremely keen to see the sadness in his heart, and was somewhat puzzled, but did not directly ask each other, but said, “He Zongwei has lost a great deal of face this time, and the Du Chuan Yuan will surely be quiet for a long time.”

“Don’t underestimate him.” Fan Xian said, “Although all of these officials are badmouthing him in front of me today, if there was another occasion, in front of He Zongwei, who would dare to say anything out loud? The status of an official still rests on His Majesty’s word, and as long as the holy favor remains, it is impossible for him to fall.”

“And he’s a formidable character.” Fan Xian suddenly smiled slightly and said, “I used to think that He Zongwei’s pattern was too small, but I didn’t think that he would do something that would take me by surprise.”

Yan Bingyun didn’t laugh and said calmly, “I found out that Fan Wu Sheng is in the He Mansion, so if you really want to deal with He Zongwei, just talk to His Majesty.”

After Fan Xian was silent for a moment, he shook his head and said, “Fan Wusu’s choice surprised me, back then, when he fled Kyoto, it was obvious that he was a cowardly person who was afraid of death, and it didn’t occur to me that after the death of the second prince, he would have the courage to go back to Kyoto to carry out the so-called grand plan of vengeance.”

He raised his hand and rubbed his brow, tilted his face in admiration and said, “Knowing that you can’t do it but doing it, Fan Wusu’s move has a great deal of ancient style, I appreciate it.”

Yan Bingyun frowned and said, “I don’t believe that you appreciate He Zongwei, and I also don’t believe that you would let He Zongwei off the hook just because of something like ancient style.”

“Now I have to deal with a big matter …… before the dean returns to his hometown, you and I shouldn’t do anything so as not to give rise to changes.” Fan Xian said extremely seriously.

The tip of Yan Bingyun’s heart trembled slightly, there weren’t many things that could shock him, but from Fan Xian’s words, he could smell something very sinister.

“Nothing should go wrong.” Fan Xian spoke softly, “But there can’t be any more trouble lately, and there can’t be any major disturbances in the imperial court, so let’s not rush into anything.”

“He Zongwei is in a hurry to do something.” Yan Bingyun passed a piece of paper into his hand and calmly said, “Although I haven’t found out yet, there are some undercurrents underneath the courtyard lately, but I don’t know the reason.”

Fan Xian fell into deep thought. He was not an immortal, the Supervisory Yuan was not omnipotent, and probably because of some moody reasons in the past few years, he was not very willing to think about how the old Wang Tou, who was the closest to him back then, was doing well in a faraway place, and for a while, he didn’t even think about this aspect, and as for Gouda, Fan Xian had long thought that he was already dead.

“The mere fact that Fan Wusu is a person is already enough to cause He Zongwei to step down, and our hands are equal to holding a sharp weapon.” Fan Xian said, “If He Zongwei really makes any big moves, you’ll directly throw out Fan Wusu. There’s no need for a minister who takes in the old family of a rebellious prince to remain in the imperial court.”

Yan Bingyun was silent for a moment before saying, “Lord He made a fatal mistake.”

Fan Xian said, “That’s because he thinks he understands His Majesty and the capabilities of the Supervisory Court, but in reality, he knows nothing.”