Through Fan Yang's all-night investigation, the plot was all extracted from 001's mouth.
He Lian has a huge assassin organization under his command, one of which secretly helps him deal with those ministers and the Zhou family. As for the assassin organization, under the interrogation of Pan Yang, 001 "happily" revealed that it is called Quanhuang Pavilion.
The Zhou family was also dealt with by this Quanhuang Pavilion back then.
No matter how hard Fan Yang tried to figure out the plot, he couldn't understand it. Quanhuang Pavilion belonged to He Lian, and it was He Lian who ordered the destruction of the Zhou family.
Logically, the plot should be the same on the surface, so why does Zhou Yang still need to investigate the truth behind the massacre of the Zhou family?
Then it must be that 001 didn't tell him the whole story.
It doesn't matter, anyway, even if they find out, they can't kill He Lian.
For the next ten days or so, Pan Yang was assassinated by men sent by He Lian. Several times, he almost couldn't resist going to the palace to kill that bastard He Lian.
Before Fan Yang could make a move, He Lian summoned him to the palace and, at 001's earnest pleading, took Zhou Yang with him.
Under a small pavilion in the Imperial Garden, Pan Yang and He Lian each held a chess piece.
Zhou Yang stood quietly behind Pan Yang.
He Lian placed the black chess piece down, his eyes slightly cold: "My dear minister, do you know what the most important thing for a prime minister is?"
"I don't know." Pan Yang blurted out without thinking, then casually placed a white piece: "I won."
"What the heck?" He Lian almost spat out blood, staring blankly at the chaotic chess pieces: "Where did we win?"
Pan Yang pointed to the five white pieces connected together: "Look, I won. Weren't we playing Connect Four?"
Zhou Yang, who was listening nearby, almost burst out laughing.
"You jest, my dear minister. This is Go." He Lian said through gritted teeth, "Have you thought through the question I just asked?"
Pan Yang shrugged and pointed to the chessboard: "The answer is right here."
"What do you mean?" He Lian narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Fan Yang, trying to discern any other emotions from his face.
"What I mean is that I am second only to the emperor, and as for the chessboard, I can decide what moves to make. As long as you don't really anger me, I can turn a blind eye."
Fan Yang gently tapped the chessboard with the white pieces in his hand, looking down at the board without even glancing at He Lian.
These outrageous words made Zhou Yang gasp and look at He Lian's expression.
He Lian suppressed his anger, gripping the chess piece tightly as if he wanted to crush it. Then, noticing Zhou Yang's gaze, he looked up and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Zhou Yang lowered his head to avoid He Lian's gaze.
"Your guards look somewhat familiar to me. I wonder where you found them?"
Hearing this, Zhou Yang's back tensed up.
Pan Yang put down a chess piece and stared at the chessboard: "Oh, I picked it up by the roadside."
Meanwhile, his inner thoughts were: Isn't this Gomoku? How do you play Go? 001, don't be mute! How do you play Go?
001: "..." Someone, get this host out of here.
"..." He Lian suppressed his anger again: "The autumn hunt is in a few days. Don't forget to go, Prime Minister." He then casually placed a piece on the board.
Upon hearing that the autumn hunt was too troublesome, Pan Yang immediately shook his head: "I won't go, it's too tiring. I'm just a civil official."
001: "6" What can I say about such a rebellious host? He just never follows the plot!
"Pan Yang!" He Lian finally couldn't hold back and roared, "I'm not dead yet! This empire still belongs to the He family!"
"Tsk," Fan Yang placed a chess piece, then clapped his hands and stood up. Even though he only glanced at He Lian casually, He Lian inexplicably felt a pressure pressing down on him.
“He Lian, I have no interest in this so-called empire. Besides, how do you know that the world will always belong to the He family?” Pan Yang’s tone was calm, and his eyes still showed no other emotions, as if he had no desires. However, his words made He Lian uneasy.
"I won the chess game." After saying that, Fan Yang turned and left without hesitation.
He Lian watched Pan Yang's departing figure, then looked at the chessboard; he had indeed lost.
A few days later, Pan Yang stopped attending the morning court session altogether. He Lian would lose his temper every morning, but of course, he didn't dare to really do anything to Pan Yang.
However, no one attempted to assassinate Huan Yang in the middle of the night, and Huan Yang was extremely comfortable and at ease.
As for the autumn hunt, Pan Yang naturally didn't go; instead, he went to the lake with Zhou Yang to enjoy the breeze and fish.
A gentle breeze swept across the lake, and Pan Yang poured two cups of tea, casually handing one to Zhou Yang.
Zhou Yang took the teacup. He dared to swear that this was the most leisurely, even arrogant, prime minister he had ever seen, or rather, the most knowledgeable prime minister throughout history.
"Aren't you curious, sir, why my name is Zhou Yang?" Zhou Yang blurted out these words as if possessed.
Before Pan Yang could speak, he continued, “The boat glides lightly and gently, the wind blows gently against my clothes. My name comes from this poem. At first, I thought I could sail alone without a care in the world, but now I realize how powerless I am.”
"I envy you, sir. As the prime minister, you are fearless and not even afraid of the emperor."
“Because I have the strength.” Pan Yang turned to look at Zhou Yang, then continued to gaze leisurely at the lake: “As long as you have enough strength, you can do whatever you want.”
"Can you really help me, sir?" Zhou Yang stared intently at Fan Yang, afraid of missing the slightest expression on his face.
"As long as I can do it."
"Why did you help me so easily, sir?"
"Because it's you."
Looking at Pan Yang's calm expression, Zhou Yang inexplicably felt a strange feeling in his heart.
Meanwhile, what Pan Yang was thinking: Nonsense, you're a hidden quest, who else would I help if not you? Even if I didn't help you, that 001 babbling on and on would drive me crazy.
Of course, would everything be so peaceful? Of course not. The next second, a group of men in black jumped out of the water and landed on the boat.
Zhou Yang was startled and drew his sword to block in front of Fan Yang: "My lord, be careful."
But the words spoken by the man in black instantly made Zhou Yang's heart tighten.
“Zhou Yang, I’m giving you one last chance. Kill Huan Yang. After all, you’ve been by the Pavilion Master’s side since you were a child. If you kill Huan Yang, the Pavilion Master will forgive you and let you stay by his side.”
The leader of the men in black chuckled after speaking, "Zhou Yang, I advise you to think this over carefully."
Zhou Yang's entire body tensed, holding his sword and continuing to protect Huan Yang: "I will not go back." After saying that, he wanted to see Huan Yang's expression.
What would he think? The person he'd always been with knew the man in black who was trying to assassinate him.
"boring."
Zhou Yang heard someone speak behind him and felt that person stand up and gently pat his shoulder.
"Get out of my way. I don't need anyone blocking my way." Fan Yang's expression remained largely unchanged, as if he didn't care at all.
He then waved to the men in black and said arrogantly, "Stop talking nonsense and come at me all at once." He was as provocative as he wanted to be.
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