158: Ye Qingmei? She deserves to die! (33)

Chapter 157: Ye Qingmei? She Deserves to Die! (33)

Regarding Chen Pingping’s accusation, Li Chang’an’s expression remained calm.

“Director Chen, His Majesty and I are like brothers; how can you speak of rebellion and treason?”

At this moment, Fan Xian tried his best to appear composed.

This was because Chen Pingping had not involved him in the planning of this matter.

Fan Xian knew that Chen Pingping would never involve him in anything that carried even the slightest risk.

Chen Pingping hoped that Fan Xian would smoothly and steadily take over the Supervisory Council.

Chen Pingping said unhurriedly, “Your Highness, King of Qin, you have mobilized the Da Xue Dragon Riders Army and Mo Jia Dragon Riders Army to the vicinity of the capital. Do you have an imperial decree for this?”

“According to the laws of our Great Qing, how can troops be moved without an imperial decree!”

Li Chang’an said dismissively, “This King was ambushed at Hongshan Pass. Mobilizing these two cavalry forces was merely to guard against assassins.”

“The other party mobilized elite military forces and siege equipment to assassinate this King.

What is wrong with this King mobilizing cavalry for defense?”

Chen Pingping continued, “Your Highness, once you returned safely to the capital, you should have sent the cavalry back to Ding Province.”

Li Chang’an glanced at Qin Ye and said, “There are still accomplices of the assassins in the capital, and this King is uneasy.”

Qin Ye, without batting an eye, said, “Your Highness, King of Qin, under the Emperor’s feet, who would dare to wield weapons rashly.”

“This old subject is in charge of the Privy Council. Since Your Highness has already stepped down from the position of Grand Commander, you no longer have the authority to mobilize troops.”

Although a prince of the Qing Kingdom could have private soldiers, they were limited to a thousand men. Twenty thousand was indeed too many.

“Therefore, Your Highness should immediately hand over the twenty thousand cavalry to the Privy Council.”

Li Chang’an said coldly, “I can, but please have the Supervisory Council thoroughly investigate the assassination attempt at Hongshan Pass.”

“Qin Yi confessed before he was executed that the assassination was orchestrated by Li Chengqian and Qin Ye!”

“You constantly say that this King is the Great Qing’s greatest meritorious subject, yet the Supervisory Council does not investigate the assassination attempt but instead questions why this King mobilized troops for self-preservation.”

“Is this how your Supervisory Council monitors the world?”

“If you want this King to withdraw the troops, first bring the masterminds to justice!”

“This matter…” Emperor Qing had just opened his mouth but was unceremoniously interrupted by Li Chang’an.

He pointed at Qin Ye and said, “Old dog Qin Ye, commit suicide before His Majesty immediately, and this King will withdraw the troops at once!”

Qin Ye was an old general in the army and a trusted confidant of Emperor Qing. Today, he was clearly meant to be the vanguard for Emperor Qing.

He knelt before Emperor Qing with a thud, “Your Majesty, this old subject knew nothing about Qin Yi’s assassination attempt!”

“This old subject is willing to accept the Supervisory Council’s investigation and let Director Chen clear this old subject’s name!”

Emperor Qing slowly said, “Alright, this matter doesn’t involve treason yet.”

“The Supervisory Council should investigate thoroughly. If it is confirmed that the main culprits have been punished, it will also put King Qin at ease.”

Emperor Qing’s unspoken meaning was that once the investigation was clear, Li Chang’an should quickly withdraw the troops.

However, Li Chang’an had come prepared today, and these twenty thousand elite cavalry would be permanently stationed in the Suburbs of the Capital from now on.

Chen Pingping said, “This old subject obeys the order.”

“Your Highness, King of Qin, my second question: when you captured the capital of Western Qin and enfeoffed officials and nobles to the Western Qin literati and military, did you seek an imperial decree?”

Li Chang’an said, “Since this King conquered Western Qin, of course, the first priority was to stabilize the people’s hearts.”

“Tell me, if this King hadn’t stabilized Western Qin immediately, how could I have used Gao Yao to smoothly take Han Xin’s military power, and where would the great victory of the thousand-li raid on the Northern Barbarians have come from!”

“Chen Pingping, this King fought desperately on the front lines, and it’s fine that your Supervisory Council didn’t provide intelligence support.

Yet here you are, wagging your tongue, stirring up trouble and discord. Your intentions are truly damnable!”

“If, as you say, everything had to await an imperial decree, the opportune moment for battle would have been missed long ago!”

Chen Pingping retorted, unwilling to give way, “Your Highness, King of Qin, you appear to act out of public interest everywhere, but in essence, you are still currying favor with the people!”

“My third question, did you privately decide the personnel arrangements for the Ding Zhou Army, replacing important generals with members of the Ye family or generals you subdued in Western Qin, without seeking an imperial decree?”

“Your actions in the Northwest show that you do not place His Majesty in your eyes at all.

You act on your own initiative everywhere, disregarding national laws, and even harbor intentions of opposing the imperial court!”

“The entire Northwest and Western Qin State have been made impenetrable by you, a place where not even a needle can pierce, nor water splash through!

If this isn’t rebellion and treason, then what is it?”

After Chen Pingping finished speaking, Li Chang’an scoffed, “Nonsense!”

“May I ask, which of His Majesty’s envoys has not entered the Northwest?

Have the pacification officials sent by the imperial court not entered the Northwest?”

“The Northwest does not prevent people from the imperial court from entering, but it does prevent people from your Supervisory Council from entering!

Because your Supervisory Council harbors malicious intentions!”

Hearing this, Emperor Qing interjected, “Alright, alright, let’s not hurt each other’s feelings.

One is my flesh and blood brother, and the other is my right-hand man.

Chang’an did not obstruct my envoys from entering the Northwest.

It is understandable that personnel matters in the Northwest are decided by the Grand Commander.

If there are any improprieties, the imperial court can slowly rectify them.”

Li Chang’an sneered inwardly; this old scoundrel Emperor Qing was still so hypocritical, still pretending to be a good person.

This sentence meant that the imperial court would slowly replace Li Chang’an’s people in the future.

Emperor Qing seemed to dismiss each of Chen Pingping’s accusations, but in reality, he was taking back all the initiative into his own hands.

On the surface, he was protecting a meritorious subject, acting as a benevolent and wise ruler, but in reality, it was all petty schemes, like a harlot trying to maintain her reputation.

Emperor Qing then said to Chen Pingping, “Director Chen, although King Qin handled these matters improperly, they do not amount to treason.”

Chen Pingping then pulled out another memorial, “Your Majesty, King Qin is ambitious and has harbored rebellious intentions. This subject has solid evidence!”

“Your Highness, King of Qin! My fourth question!

You absorbed the intelligence organization Langya Pavilion in Western Qin, why have you delayed reporting it to His Majesty!”

“Your Majesty, esteemed colleagues, after investigation by the Supervisory Council, the Langya Pavilion of Western Qin State is by no means a Jianghu School!”

“Langya Pavilion is an intelligence agency just like the Supervisory Council!

Tens of thousands of its operatives are spread throughout Northern Qi, Great Qing, Dongyi City, Northern Barbarians, and Western Hu!”

“The reason Your Highness, King of Qin, was able to penetrate the snowfields and grasslands smoothly was due to the intelligence support from Langya Pavilion!”

Privately incorporating an intelligence agency was no small matter.

The ministers in the Imperial Study began to discuss amongst themselves.

Chen Pingping, with an expression that saw through everything, said to Li Chang’an, “Your Highness, King of Qin, what exactly are your intentions in secretly maintaining Langya Pavilion!”

“Do you really intend to establish a second Supervisory Council in Great Qing?”

“Don’t you know that the Supervisory Council is His Majesty’s arm, and there is only one in Great Qing!”

“Who exactly are you trying to monitor, and whose intelligence are you trying to gather, by keeping Langya Pavilion?”

Qin Ye seized the opportunity to say, “Your Majesty, this is a serious matter and must not be overlooked!”

“King Qin privately keeping Langya Pavilion may be detrimental to the imperial court, and even endanger Your Majesty!”

As soon as Qin Ye spoke, several ministers immediately seconded, expressing similar concerns.

Fan Jian, however, remained silent. Chen Pingping was an old colleague, and Li Chang’an was his son-in-law.

Although his daughter was at odds with him, he would never do anything to kick someone when they were down.

Moreover, he understood Chen Pingping and Emperor Qing well enough not to want to get involved.

Emperor Qing finished reading the memorial, his voice noticeably darkening.

“Prime Minister Lin, what do you think?”

Lin Ruofu still didn’t know that the person who occasionally directed him to do things was Li Chang’an.

But he knew that Li Chang’an and Lin Wan’er were on the same side.

“Your Majesty, precisely because the matter is serious, it should be investigated thoroughly.”

“Perhaps His Highness, King of Qin, has other considerations, which is why he hasn’t reported it yet.”

The First Prince also said, “Your Majesty, King Qin’s achievements are rare in hundreds of years!”

As soon as he spoke, Li Chang’an heard Emperor Qing’s cold snort.

This honest First Prince really knew how to speak.

“This son also feels that King Qin may have other considerations.

Perhaps he intends to fully understand Langya Pavilion before reporting to His Majesty!”

Emperor Qing handed the memorial to Eunuch Hou, “Let King Qin see it himself and say what he has to say.”

Li Chang’an didn’t even take the memorial and said directly, “No need to look. This King did indeed incorporate Langya Pavilion, and I did not report it.”

Hearing Li Chang’an’s words, Emperor Qing said with some indignation, “King Qin!

You no longer even address yourself as a subject! It seems you are truly arrogant!”

“Alas, youthful arrogance, it’s all my fault! You were intelligent from a young age, and I indulged you too much.”

“You were disrespectful to me, but I, considering you a literary giant, let you be!”

“You sat on the imperial seat in Northern Qi, and in front of the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi and the Emperor, you openly said you would rebel against me, and I still tolerated you!”

Emperor Qing looked heartbroken, even standing up, his voice beginning to tremble.

Li Chang’an watched with cold eyes, ‘Keep acting, act well, you’ll have your turn to act later.’

“Now, you are spoiled and arrogant, disrespectful, and audacious! You actually dare to privately maintain an intelligence agency of a state!”

“Does Langya Pavilion have deathsworn, poison masters, private soldiers like the Black Knights, and spies spread across the world!”

“If it were anyone else, they would have been imprisoned and interrogated long ago!”

“But this person is you, Li Chang’an. My heart aches!”

“Enough, for now, revoke your special privileges and the Kyoto Prefecture Chief position, fine you three years’ salary, confine you for one year, and let you reflect on your mistakes… Alas!”

This was equivalent to revoking Li Chang’an’s qualification as crown prince, and with a year of confinement, it would not be an exaggeration to say that his influence was gone.

If Li Chang’an hadn’t cultivated power in the Northwest, he wouldn’t doubt that Emperor Qing would strip him of his princely title right now.

Emperor Qing appeared utterly heartbroken, but Li Chang’an didn’t believe a single hair of it.

“Your Majesty is mistaken!”

Li Chang’an’s calm words instantly silenced the Imperial Study.

There weren’t many people present, all high-ranking officials of the Qing Kingdom.

Except for Lai Mingcheng, who showed curiosity, everyone else thought Li Chang’an was crazy.

Because such insubordinate words had only been spoken by Lai Mingcheng before, and frequently at that.

Emperor Qing had already put on the act of a heartbroken elder brother, so he had to continue the act.

Even though he was seething with anger, he still said with feigned heartache, “You want to quibble? Good, good, you speak, I’m listening.”

Li Chang’an glanced at Chen Pingping and said, “Actually, this King just said that the Supervisory Council harbors malicious intentions!”

“This King deliberately concealed Langya Pavilion precisely to allow Director Chen to investigate me, thereby revealing his disloyal intentions!”

At these words, Lai Mingcheng suddenly said, “Your Highness, King of Qin, entrapment is not advisable!”

Li Chang’an, however, said, “Censor Lai, Chen Pingping’s disloyal intentions have existed for over a decade; this King did not lure them out, so it is not entrapment.”

Chen Pingping’s eyelids twitched, and he said coldly, “What, this old subject investigating Your Highness means I have disloyal intentions?”

“Your Highness, King of Qin, is also a subject, not a ruler!

This old subject has not investigated the ruler, so how can I have disloyal intentions?”

Emperor Qing also said, “Chang’an, don’t randomly accuse others to absolve yourself of guilt.”

He said this, but his heart inexplicably began to panic.

Because, he also suspected Chen Pingping of disloyalty, but he had no evidence.

Li Chang'an, unhurried, took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it to Eunuch Hou.

"Director Chen, you've asked this prince many questions. Now it's this prince's turn to ask you."

"My first question: Is it illegal for the Supervisory Council to recruit Martial Forest masters into the Council, collude with the Ministry of Justice and Kyoto Prefecture, and abuse judicial power?"

"Over the past ten years, this prince has found concrete evidence for thirty-two such cases!"

"You first colluded with the Kyoto Prefecture or the Ministry of Justice to imprison people and brand them with serious crimes, then you pretended to be good people and rescued them."

"Such methods, where do they place the laws of the state and justice?!"

Upon hearing these words, Lai Mingcheng's eyes widened in excitement. This was something he had always wanted to impeach but lacked evidence for!

Emperor Qing opened the memorial and found that the names, charges, and the process of entrapment were all clearly written.

"You've been the Kyoto Prefecture Magistrate for over a month, and you've achieved something, haven't you?"

Chen Pingping also looked at the memorial. "Your Majesty, this is due to my lax supervision. The officials in the Council acted against the law."

Seeing that Chen Pingping couldn't refute, Emperor Qing was about to smooth things over, but Li Chang'an pulled out another memorial, not giving Emperor Qing time to perform.

"My second question: At the Hanging Temple Chrysanthemum Appreciation Assembly, why did Director Chen orchestrate the assassination of Your Majesty?!"

"The Western Hu swordsman and the sword-wielding eunuch were both secretly guided by you!"

"The white-clothed swordsman is Shadow, the head of the Supervisory Council's Sixth Bureau!"

The memorial was handed to Emperor Qing, and it contained all the facts confessed by Shadow.

Upon hearing this, Chen Pingping gritted his teeth, knowing that today's situation was not good.

Only he, Shadow, and Fan Xian knew about this matter. How did Li Chang'an find out?

Emperor Qing's expression changed again and again. It seemed Li Chang'an had indeed grasped solid evidence against Chen Pingping!

"Hmph! Si Gu Jian's younger brother!"

"The foremost person below a Great Grandmaster!"

"Chen Pingping! Is this how you serve as my right-hand man?!"

He had long suspected that Chen Pingping was behind the assassination attempt, testing him. Now Li Chang'an had confirmed it.

Chen Pingping, oh Chen Pingping, you finally showed your tail!

But Emperor Qing felt an even greater chill down his spine. Li Chang'an had actually obtained Shadow's confession!

Could it be that behind Li Chang'an, there was also a Great Grandmaster!

The First Prince looked at Chen Pingping in surprise. "Uncle, is this true?"

The First Prince's mother, Consort Ning, once had a slight entanglement with Chen Pingping.

Consort Ning, remembering that past affection, had the First Prince call Chen Pingping uncle.

Fan Xian was stunned. So, besides Shadow, the other two were also guided by Chen Pingping!

What a divine scheme!

Qin Ye saw this situation and immediately felt a sense of dread.

Did he bet on the wrong side today? Chen Pingping assassinated Emperor Qing, and Li Chang'an secretly kept a private investigative agency. Both were grave acts of treason!

Lin Ruofu, Fan Jian, and the other high-ranking officials all hunched their shoulders.

They were both afraid and curious, wondering what other major revelations Li Chang'an would expose.

Chen Pingping showed a venomous snake-like smile and looked at Li Chang'an.

"Your Highness, Prince of Qin, what deep thoughts you have. I'm afraid today won't end here."

Li Chang'an continued, "My third question: Why did you secretly instigate the struggle between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince during their conflict back then?!"

"The Sixth Bureau Swordsmen assassinated the Crown Prince three times, and all these incidents were blamed on the Second Prince's Eight Generals!"

"The Second Prince was confined, and poisoned five times within a single year. The world believed it was the Crown Prince's doing!"

As Li Chang'an pulled out the memorial, Emperor Qing directly stepped out from behind the curtain.

He snatched the memorial, and the more he read, the more he was alarmed. A chill ran down his spine, and his heart pounded!

"Chen Pingping! What a vicious mind you have!"

"You actually want my sons to kill each other!"

By this point, Chen Pingping knew that today would likely not end well.

He gripped the hidden button on his wheelchair, turned the wheelchair towards Emperor Qing, and instantly regained his confidence and composure.

"My Emperor, you are the one who made your sons kill each other."

"You originally had no intention of changing the heir, yet you sought a whetstone to sharpen the Crown Prince."

"First it was the Second Prince, then Li Chang'an. This old servant merely added fuel to the fire for you."

Emperor Qing looked at Chen Pingping's calm eyes, and suddenly felt uncertain. What other reliance did this old dog have?

"This old servant is an old dog by Your Majesty's side. Everything a dog does is for its master!"

"You want to raise Gu to torment your sons. This old servant helps you, making the internecine struggle more intense. Isn't that good?"

"You set up the Hanging Temple to demote the Ye family and scheme against the other two Great Grandmasters."

"The fire you set yourself wasn't enough, was it? This old servant set up the assassination against you. Isn't that good?"

"My Emperor, my master, this old servant has always acted according to Your Majesty's wishes. Your Majesty should reward this old servant."

After Chen Pingping finished speaking, Fan Xian immediately said, "Your Majesty, this is Your Majesty's family matter. This subject and others will withdraw!"

Fan Xian was very clever. If so many people heard these things now, Director Chen would have no way out.

If it was just Chen Pingping and Emperor Qing arguing, there might still be room for maneuver.

"Good..." Emperor Qing nodded, just about to let the others withdraw, but was interrupted by Li Chang'an again.

At this moment, Emperor Qing thought of Li Chang'an's first birthday banquet.

At that time, the late emperor spoke of Li Yunrui's marriage. Emperor Qing, who was then the Crown Prince, directly interrupted the emperor's speech, showing his domineering nature!

Emperor Qing turned to look at Li Chang'an, whose expression was as cold and resolute as Chen Pingping's.

What reliance and confidence do you two have, that you aren't afraid of me at all!

I am far from as weak and spineless as the late emperor!

This was truly a turn of events! But Li Chang'an was far more assertive than he had been back then.

"Fan Xian, how dare you!"

"As the Commissioner of the Supervisory Council, when faced with a major case, you immediately think of retreating. This is utterly preposterous!"

"Today, Chen Pingping accuses this prince of treason, so this prince will debate with this old scoundrel in front of all of you, to see who is the true traitor!"

"All of you are high-ranking court officials, so stay put obediently for this prince!"

Emperor Qing was so enraged that he was about to curse, 'I'm not dead yet!'

However, Li Chang'an pulled out another memorial from his sleeve, and Emperor Qing forcibly suppressed his anger.

He was also curious; he also wanted to know what else Li Chang'an had uncovered.

"Chen Pingping, my fourth question: Do you know that the poisons and aphrodisiacs developed by Fei Jie and his Disciples have already flowed into the market?"

"Among the poisoning cases that occurred in Kyoto Prefecture in the past ten years, over forty of them used your Supervisory Council's poisons!"

"These are all cases with concrete evidence. Who knows how many more couldn't be traced!"

"As Your Majesty's right-hand man, did His Majesty tell you to sell poisons and aphrodisiacs for money?!"

Emperor Qing took Li Chang'an's memorial. He didn't care about wives poisoning concubines, or sons poisoning fathers.

He flipped all the way to the end, where it described the aphrodisiac developed by Fei Jie, given to a dignitary of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and then administered to the Crown Prince.

Li Chang'an didn't publicly mention this, but it was written in great detail in the memorial.

When Emperor Qing saw the end, he slumped onto the steps of the Imperial Study, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

"Chen Pingping! What a vicious mind you have!"

Chen Pingping still smiled as he looked at Li Chang'an. He also guessed what Emperor Qing had seen.

"Li Chang'an, I greatly underestimated you."

"You are the most deeply hidden venomous snake. You are a hundred, a thousand times more vicious than I am!"

"You captured Fei Jie and Shadow, didn't you? You actually made them confess. You truly have skill."

Li Chang'an said indifferently, "This prince has always been gentle with people. If others don't provoke me, I always leave them a glimmer of hope."

"But you, old dog, have been scheming against this prince for a long time, haven't you?"

"If you show me an inch of respect, I will show you a foot. If you accidentally offend me, I will make you vanish into thin air."

"Killing a crippled useless person like you is too easy for me, and too cheap for you."

"I have to make you watch your hopes crumble, and extinguish the light in your heart."

Let you die peacefully and comfortably."

Chen Pingping was not afraid of Li Chang'an's threats in the slightest.

"Li Chang'an, I admire you greatly. You are very resourceful."

"However, don't misunderstand. I am not targeting you."

Chen Pingping's calm face instantly became ferocious, his gaze like a venomous tongue, sweeping over Emperor Qing and Li Chang'an!

"Everyone in this palace surnamed Li! All of them should die!"

Seeing Chen Pingping's crazed state, Fan Xian's heart pounded.

"Director, what's wrong with you?!"

Chen Pingping bared his teeth, revealing a fierce smile.

"Fan Xian, you bastard!"

"Why are you her son?!"

"Why must her dirty blood flow in your veins?!"

When Chen Pingping said 'his', he pointed at Emperor Qing.

Chen Pingping said this, of course, to protect Fan Xian.

Fan Xian truly didn't know about his revenge against Emperor Qing, so he needed to completely draw a line with Fan Xian.

Emperor Qing's gaze also gradually turned ruthless.

"Chen Pingping, so you have been secretly instigating the royal family to kill each other all along."

"How many bloody incidents in this palace were all planned by you!"

Chen Pingping gave a cold laugh. "This old servant said, this old servant merely fanned the flames, that's all."

"My Emperor, you don't know how lonely and desperate Xiao Yezi was the night she died!"

"It was you! You transferred away everyone she could trust around her!"

"You said the Meritorious Nobles in the capital killed her! But all of this was planned by you!"

"You killed Xiao Yezi, yet you still pretend to be a good person! Pretending to seek revenge for her with us!"

"My Emperor, you played the harlot, and then you want to erect a memorial arch!"

Chen Pingping exposed Emperor Qing's true face, and the entire hall fell silent.

Qin Ye looked at Emperor Qing with a terrified expression, and Emperor Qing looked at Fan Xian with some panic.

If this matter got out, Wu Zhu would surely kill Emperor Qing.

At this moment, Li Chang'an's voice suddenly cut in.

"So, this prince was caught in the crossfire."

"You old dog, your schemes against the Li imperial family are all because of Ye Qingmei."

"Ye Qingmei, I know, she died long ago."

"Chen Pingping, why are you so resentful?"

"Ye Qingmei? She deserved to die."

Li Chang'an spoke lightly, but in Chen Pingping's calm eyes, a blazing fire had already ignited!

His veins bulged on his face, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "You, what did you say?!"