The heavens set sail from the courtyard

Qin Ye's death caused panic throughout Kyoto. All the personnel that could be dispatched from the Inspection Bureau, Kyoto Prefecture, and even the Ministry of Justice were searching for the murderer.

Even the nine gates of Kyoto were closed, and no one was allowed to enter or leave.

The Yuan-Mongol envoys were asked to stay in the embassy and wait for an audience with Emperor Qing.

Some people in the court also began to jump up and down. In addition to writing to Emperor Qing to catch the murderer, the most important thing was to set their sights on the position of the Privy Council that became vacant after Qin Ye's death.

The official power of Qing State was distributed in five places.

The first is the secret agency, the Inspection Institute, headed by Chen Pingping.

The second is the censorial system of the Censorate, which is controlled by the Imperial Censors.

Third, the civil service groups including the six central ministries are basically controlled by Prime Minister Lin.

Fourth, the financial power of the inner treasury is temporarily controlled by the eldest princess Li Yunrui. After Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er get married, the inner treasury will be handed over to Fan Xian.

The fifth is the military power. The Privy Council is the highest authority, and Qin Ye is the highest official of the Privy Council.

These five major forces are intertwined and check and balance each other. Emperor Qing sits high on the throne, making all the plans.

Now that Qin Ye is dead, the position of the highest official in the Privy Council is vacant. Many people are eyeing that position, among which Crown Prince Li Chengqian and Second Prince Li Chengze are the most active.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian was born to the Queen and the legitimate son of Emperor Qing. He was designated as the crown prince very early on, but because Emperor Qing was suspicious by nature, Li Chengqian chose to keep a low profile. He was not active in state affairs and his performance was usually mediocre. However, he always held the title of crown prince and no one dared to look down on him.

In contrast, the second prince Li Chengze was smart and clever since childhood, and was deeply loved by Emperor Qing. He was made king at a young age and won the support of many ministers.

It was almost no secret that the Crown Prince and the Second Prince were competing for the throne. Both sides were determined to gain control of the Privy Council and ordered their subordinates to submit petitions continuously in an effort to win the position that would be vacant after Qin Ye's death.

Emperor Qing's desk was piled with memorials every day, but he kept them and never issued them, nor did he say who would take over the Privy Council.

However, after Qin Ye's death, Emperor Qing met with Ye Chong, and many people speculated that Emperor Qing wanted Ye Chong to take charge of the Privy Council.

The Ye family, to which Ye Chong belongs, is also an ancient family of the Qing Kingdom and has considerable influence in the military. In particular, the great master Ye Liuyun was born in the Ye family. Ye Chong is actually Ye Liuyun's nephew, and his cultivation level is above the ninth rank.

The Ye family is a staunch royalist and never participates in the fight for the throne, but Ye Zhong's daughter Ye Ling'er and Princess Li Yunrui's daughter Lin Wan'er are close friends.

The second prince may have taken a fancy to the power of the Ye family, so he wrote directly to Emperor Qing, asking to marry Ye Ling'er.

When Crown Prince Li Chengqian learned about this, he immediately submitted a memorial, asking for Ye Ling'er to be married to Guo Baokun, the son of Minister of Rites Guo Youzhi.

For a time, Ye Ling'er of the Ye family was very popular in Kyoto.

On the other hand, Fan Xian was arrested and imprisoned in the Inspection Institute, but was released after a few days.

Chen Pingping found an excuse to link the deaths of Lin Gong and Qin Ye, believing that they were done by the same killer. When Qin Ye died, Fan Xian was still imprisoned in prison, so it was naturally impossible for him to have committed the crime, and he was cleared of suspicion.

Although Prime Minister Lin was unwilling to accept the fact, he really could not find any conclusive evidence. The coroner from the Inspection Institute and Kyoto Prefecture had already proved that when Fan Xian arrived at the scene outside the capital, Lin Gong had been dead for more than an hour.

With this evidence, Fan Jian put some pressure on Emperor Qing, and Fan Xian was released.

As soon as Fan Xian got out of the cage, the first thing he cared about was Teng Zijing who was captured with him.

As a result, when he found the person, Teng Zijing had already been beaten all over by Zhu Ge, the chief of the Inspection Institute. There was not a single piece of healthy flesh on his body, and both of his leg bones were broken. He looked very miserable.

Looking at the shocking wounds on Teng Zijing's body, Fan Xian was furious, but Zhu Ge was fearless.

"Sir, I'm sorry. According to normal procedures, the person was taken to the prison of the Inspection Institute and was tortured. My men did use too much force. I have already punished them severely." Zhu Ge sneered.

Fan Xian said angrily: "He's almost been beaten to death by you guys. You're just trying to force him to confess."

Zhu Ge said indifferently: "Your Excellency has wronged me. This is the rule. Even if you report it to His Majesty, I have done nothing wrong."

Fan Xian gritted his teeth, but he could do nothing about Zhu Ge. After being in Kyoto for a while, he realized how deep the water in the officialdom of Qing Kingdom was.

"I won't let this go." Fan Xian said harshly, and then asked someone to take Teng Zijing to the clinic and find the best doctor to treat him.

Teng Zijing's wife and children also received a sum of money from Fan Xian as compensation.

After finishing everything, Fan Xian went home to meet his family, and then ran to "Wang's Cloth Shop" to meet Wang Gang.

"Brother Gang, did you kill Lin Gong and Qin Ye?" Fan Xian asked straight to the point.

"Why do you suspect me?" Wang Gang said puzzledly: "I am just a small cloth shop owner. I don't have the ability to assassinate a high-ranking official of the imperial court and the son of Prime Minister Lin."

Fan Xian said: "I have been in prison these days and have been thinking a lot. Ruoruo and Fan Siche were rescued and brought home by a mysterious person. You are the only one in Kyoto who has this ability."

Wang Gang shook his head and said, "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. If someone hears me, I won't have enough lives."

"Besides you, who else would save Ruoruo and Fan Siche, and not even leave their name afterwards?" Fan Xian asked.

Wang Gang laughed and said, "There are so many extraordinary people and heroes in the world. Maybe one of them saw injustice and came to the rescue. Anyway, the death of Lin Gong and Qin Ye has nothing to do with me!"

Fan Xian looked at Wang Gang suspiciously, but Wang Gang remained calm and there was no sign of any flaws. "Brother Gang, I want to ask you for a favor!" Fan Xian suddenly said.

"What help?" Wang Gang asked.

"I want to kill Zhu Ge, the chief of the First Division of the Inspection Institute." Fan Xian said viciously.

Wang Gang raised his eyebrows and asked, "For your bodyguard Teng Zijing?"

Fan Xian sighed and said, "I asked a doctor to see Teng Zijing. The doctor said that even if his injury healed, he would be disabled for life and would not be able to do any heavy work in the future. I must avenge him."

Wang Gang asked: "Think carefully. If you assassinate the director of the Inspection Institute for the sake of a guard, even Fan Jian will not be able to protect you if this is exposed."

"Teng Zijing is not only my bodyguard, but also my brother." Fan Xian said seriously.

Wang Gang shook his head and smiled without saying anything.

"Have you told Fan Jian about your decision?" Wang Gang asked back, "Did he agree that you would be a guard and put the entire Fan family in danger?"

"That's why I can't use anyone from the Fan family." Fan Xian said, "Brother Gang, will you help me or not?"

"No." Wang Gang said without hesitation: "I will only help you assassinate the director of the Inspection Institute if I am crazy."

Fan Xian said anxiously: "Brother Gang, people say that brothers fight together to save the tiger. Can you bear to see me take risks?"

"Of course I can bear it." Wang Gang took a sip of tea calmly.

Fan Xian was choked and speechless.

He begged for a long time, but Wang Gang still didn't agree, so Fan Xian could only go home disappointed.

After Wang Gang sent Fan Xian away, he went directly to the backyard of the cloth shop because he had another guest to entertain.

This guest was somewhat related to Fan Xian, he was the Crown Prince of Qing, Li Chengqian.

"Boss Wang, your cloth shop is doing very well! You kept me waiting for a long time."

"Don't blame me, Your Highness." Wang Gang said politely, "Master Xiao Fan also wants to take care of my business, I can't refuse."

Li Chengqian asked in surprise: "You and Fan Xian are very familiar with each other?"

Wang Gang shook his head and said, "We have only met twice, so we are not very familiar with each other. Master Fan is not as generous as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian pushed a small box in front of Wang Gang and said, "This is the final payment, please count it."

Wang Gang opened the box and found it was full of silver bills, each worth one thousand taels.

"I trust His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Wang Gang closed the box and said with a smile.

"My aunt was right in her introduction. You Dark River killers are indeed very powerful. You were able to actually kill Qin Ye. I really did not find the wrong person." Li Chengqian said with satisfaction.

Wang Gang said with a smile: "If His Royal Highness wants to kill someone next time, don't forget our Dark River."

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes, looked at Wang Gang deeply, and said: "The Dark River Killer Organization has become famous in recent years. Many eighth- and ninth-rank masters have fallen into your hands. No wonder my aunt recommended you to me."

Wang Gangdui smiled and said, "As long as you can afford it, Anhe can solve any of your problems."

Li Chengqian said uncertainly: "If I ask you to assassinate the emperor, can you do it?"

"Of course." Wang Gang said without hesitation: "As long as Your Highness can afford it, the four great masters will be killed."

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth and said, "How much does it cost to kill Fan Xian?"

Wang Gang said in embarrassment: "This is a bit difficult! After all, Fan Xian is my old friend and old customer. If he dies, the loss of Anhe will be quite large, so we have to pay more."

"How much?" Li Chengqian asked.

"Ten million taels of silver." Wang Gang said with a smile.

Li Chengqian was stunned and asked in confusion: "Killing Qin Ye only costs one million taels, but Fan Xian is ten times more expensive than Qin Ye?"

Wang Gang laughed and said, "There's nothing we can do. Fan Xian is backed by the Si Nan Marquis Mansion, and he is also the Director of the Inspection Institute, Chen Pingping's man. Killing him is too risky. Without 10 million taels, it will be difficult to deal with the secret river!"

Li Chengqian's face was uncertain and he couldn't make up his mind.

He had 10 million taels, but paying such a huge price just to kill Fan Xian was not worth it.

"What if we kill the second prince? How much will it cost?" Li Chengqian gritted his teeth.

"Your Highness, you are putting me in a difficult position!" Wang Gang said distressedly.

"Did Li Chengze also visit you?" Li Chengqian's face changed, and he thought of something. (End of this chapter)