The news about the Ministry of Punishment immediately spread around the capital. People expected that the three giants, the Overwatch Council, the Prime Minister and Fan Shangshu, would not launch a major counterattack against the Ministry of Punishment and the Metropolitan Procuratorate immediately. This was beyond the expectations of all officials. .
During the palace examination, His Majesty the Emperor Qing finally expressed his attitude indifferently. The few people Fan Xian had his eyes on were all selected into the top two. Jiu Shizi's head, and Fan Xian knew that the names of these three people had also appeared on those few slips of paper, and he had manipulated them when he blurted out their names.
The more obvious point of His Majesty's stance on the fraud case in the imperial examination lies in the specific circumstances of the imperial examination at that time. During the banquet, all the officials were very surprised to find that Fengzheng Fan Xian, the fifth rank of Taixue, was sitting in the front row with some unease, sitting next to the prince and the second prince, smiling shyly, as if he hadn't drunk today, so It's not as wild as the night when he uttered three hundred poems, and he doesn't feel used to being under the spotlight.
After Fan Xian rioted in the Ministry of Criminal Justice, all the officials in Beijing knew his true identity for a long time. Shi Guozheng's face was completely stripped off, and it was heard that there was a lot of commotion in the night palace.
Supervisor of the Overwatch Council, this is a very grisly job. It is always difficult for the officials to connect the role of holding countless spies and manipulating the life and death of officials secretly with Fan Xian, but no matter what, when the officials look at Fan Xian again at this time, It was no longer just seeing him as a civil servant, a son of the rich and powerful with a big background behind him, but for the first time he really felt Fan Xian's strength.
After the palace examination, the fraud case at the Chunwei Examination Hall was still under the supervision of the Overwatch Council, and the trial was proceeding slowly but firmly, but that Fan Tisi became quiet—those who knew the inside story guessed that Fan Xian was preparing for the trial in a few days. About going on a mission.
…
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On the third day of March, the palace examination is over, the banquet is over, and the flower arrangement is over. Yang Wanli, Hou Jichang, Cheng Jialin, and Shi Chanli, the four scholars who were suddenly blessed, finally took a moment to sit in a carriage and arrived at the gate of Fan's Mansion on Chengnan Street.
Yang Wanli looked up at the lavish front door of Fan Mansion, glanced nervously at the ferocious stone lion squatting by the door, and said in a low voice, "I'm a little nervous."
Hou Jichang was the calmest of the four, but he was a little nervous when he came to such a luxurious mansion for the first time, so he forced a smile and said, "Lord Xiao Fan has seen it before, young and promising, and his conversation is very good." Interesting characters, not as hideous as the big officials in the middle of the court, why are you nervous."
Cheng Jialin didn't know what to say in Punner. A few days ago, the Ministry of Punishment and the Overwatch Council made a fuss. The four of them logically and humanly speaking, everyone has put them under Fan Xian's sect. , the palace test has passed, so no matter what, he should come to the mansion to pay homage to the door. Back in the Tongfu Inn that day, these four scholars suddenly discovered that the most terrifying Overwatch Council in Qing Kingdom actually fought for themselves and the guards of the Thirteenth Yamen, and they almost didn't die of fright.
Shi Chanli has the most gentle and free-spirited personality. He missed this time anyway, so he seemed much more relaxed than the three friends next to him. He pointed at them and smiled: "I think you are really nervous, but probably not because of the nervousness of visiting the master, but because of the nervousness. It’s because I found out that Mr. Fan suddenly transformed into Mr. Inspector of the Overwatch Council, so I was a little afraid. Brothers, what I’m saying is right?”
Yang Wanli glanced at the stone lion again, and said with a wry smile, "No one would have expected that within two days, Fan Xian, the poet fairy, would suddenly become one of the most powerful officials of the Overwatch Council. What a terrible place, the officials in the court have always been afraid of it, and Mr. Fan has entered the Overwatch Council, and his reputation is indeed a bit bad."
"It's just the prejudice of ignorant people." Shi Chanli said with a smile: "That day in the Tongfu Inn, you also said that the Overwatch Council is extremely beneficial in supervising the administration of officials." He turned to a somewhat disapproving one Hou Jichang said: "After Guo Shangshu was imprisoned, you also toasted for the Overwatch Council. What's the matter? Now that the master is found to be a high-ranking official of the Overwatch Council, you want to stay away like ordinary people?"
Yang Wanli sighed and said: "The whole world knows that Mr. Fan was responsible for the Chunwei fraud case. It was only later that he realized that he had been working for the Overwatch Council. Mr. Fan's move is not only to build us up. The future of the three, and more importantly, is to seek a fairer path for scholars in this world. Everyone is grateful. Even after knowing that he is the commissioner of the Overwatch Council, no scholar dares to disrespect him a little bit. As for you and me, let alone say, well, even if Mr. Fan stays in the Overwatch Council in the future, we still have to follow along. Brother Shi doesn’t need to say much about this, I’ve already made up my mind.”
Hou Jichang smiled slightly and said: "That's exactly the reason. It's just a pity, but according to the court rules, the chief of the secret service who served in the Overwatch Council will no longer be able to enter the cabinet to worship the prime minister. It is a pity that Mr. Fan is so talented."
At this time, Cheng Jialin had a chance to interject: "Lord Xiao Fan still has that status, and his official career cannot be greatly developed in the first place. I heard that he will be in charge of the imperial merchant's internal treasury in the coming year, so it is not a pity to be able to work in the Overwatch Council." .”
Everyone understood that what he was talking about was Fan Xian's identity as the "Princess Prince's Son-in-law". When they thought that this extremely young sect master, who was waiting for several people, would have so many identities, everyone felt it was amazing. The four of them discussed in low voices at the gate of Fan Mansion for a long time, and finally dispelled some of the tension in their hearts. They walked towards Fan Mansion and handed over the famous stabs that had been prepared.
The concierge of Fan's mansion had noticed these four scholar-like figures for a long time, and took a look at the famous badges with a suspicious face, only to find that they were the four people who had been passed around for a long time in Beijing recently. Everyone in Fan's residence knew that the young master of his family had taken in four new students, so they were the four in front of him, so they hurriedly and respectfully invited them to the entrance room, and served them with tea.
The four of them knew that this was the rule of the high-ranking family, but whenever a guest came to the door, they had to drink tea in the porter's room first and wait for the report. Unexpectedly, after a while, the concierge reported back with a face full of embarrassment: "The young master went out today, but he is not in the mansion. Four adults, do you want to leave a message, or come back some other day?"
The four of them were unavoidably disappointed, but they relaxed for no reason deep in their hearts. But at this time, the official sedan chair stopped beside the side door, and the porter hurried forward to meet him. A solemn middle-aged official got off the sedan chair, his eyes were soft and deep, and when he passed by the porter, he stopped and looked at He glanced at the four scholars.
The concierge saw that the master had stopped in his tracks, and was about to go forward to introduce him, when he saw the master waved his hand, turned to face the four and asked in unison, "Who is Yang Wanli? Who is Shi Chanli? Who is Hou Jichang? Who is Cheng Jialin?"
Hou Jichang was startled, thinking that this lord actually knew the identities of the four of them without asking, and he didn't just ask one person's name, but he missed none of them. , Unexpectedly, it must be Master Xiao Fan's father, and he hurried down for a week: "The late student Hou Jichang, pay homage to Master Shangshu."
The three next to him only woke up at this moment, knowing that the high-ranking official in front of him was Lord Xiao Fan's father, so they hurriedly saluted.
Sinan Bo Fan Jian smiled slightly, glanced at Hou Jichang, and said in a slightly approving voice: "It seems that Fan Xian's vision is really good." Then he said: "He is not at home, if you don't mind the old man's wordiness, you can accompany me into the mansion Let's have a few words."
This is the father of the sect master, how should he shout? Although the four scholars will be the rising forces in the official circles of the Qing Kingdom tomorrow, they dare not talk too much in the face of this old fox minister, and they honestly followed him into the mansion.
※※※
The ugliest building on Tianhe Road is still silent in the spring, and there are no petals in the famous falling flowers on both sides of the road, because the spring is too early, and the flowers have not yet fully bloomed, so naturally I am reluctant to throw my clothes into the water for scenery.
The people in Kyoto still followed the old rules and walked far away from the Overwatch Council. The stone tablet in front of the courtyard watched those people quietly, as if saying, the courtyard is there to protect you, why are you so afraid? Don't ask why the people are afraid of the Overwatch Council, just like the four scholars of Yang Wanli, people's fear of the secret spy agency is always groundless, because that Yamen seems to have no light, it seems to have only secrets and darkness.
In the square room of the Overwatch Council, the seven chiefs were sitting at the long table calmly. They knew that today's meeting was special, so they looked at the crippled dean at the end of the long table with some doubts in their eyes. . After Zhu Ge, the leader of the first division, committed suicide in this room, there was no leader for the first division, and Mu Tie was only temporarily in charge of Beijing, so there are only seven people in the eight major divisions today.
The door slid and opened silently, but the seven most powerful characters of the Qing Kingdom Secret Service naturally noticed it, and subconsciously turned their heads to look at the door. Even Chen Pingping at the end of the long table slowly raised her head, her eyes were calm and energetic.
An old man with brown eyes and disheveled hair walked in stoopingly.
Everyone was slightly surprised, but they saw Fei Jie turned around and said softly: "Ugly daughters-in-law always want to see their parents-in-law, come in, why are you dawdling?"
The young man behind him flashed out with some embarrassment. This young man had a handsome face and was amiable, with a shy smile on his face, he bowed his hands to the leaders of the Overwatch Council at the table, and said softly with some embarrassment: "Hi everyone, good morning everyone, I It's Fan Xian."