area51novel Page 206
Page 206
"Fan Xian, I know His Majesty will not like your memorial regarding the Imperial Treasury, but I still had you submit it."
Fan Xian gave a wry smile, "You did it on purpose, and so did I."
Chen Pingping laughed and said, "You are testing me. You know perfectly well that sending the crafts of the three major workshops out to the outside world would harm the interests of the royal family."
You want to see just how much His Majesty favors you.
Fan Xian bluntly stated, "His Majesty accepted Princess Yichen's proposal to rotate the Imperial Treasury every three years, which still leaves me a chance."
"Moreover, he even gave me a title and didn't blame me, which shows that the old man really treats me like a son."
Chen Pingping smiled slightly, "Is it possible that he's afraid of the powerful weapon in your hands?"
Upon hearing this, Fan Xian became alert, vaguely sensing that Chen Pingping and Emperor Qing were not on the same side.
"Dean Chen, I do not have any magical weapons. I am not lying."
Chen Pingping said, "Your Majesty and I are the same; we don't believe what you say, we only trust our own judgment."
"The box you carried when you entered the capital was the one your mother carried out of the temple years ago."
"Moreover, a divine weapon capable of harming a Grandmaster could only come from the temple, so the divine weapon must be in your hands!"
Fan Xian had long known that intelligent people would make this guess.
However, Chen Pingping looked at him with a gentle gaze, and indeed shielded him from many troubles over the past year.
Without Chen Pingping's boundless trust and delegation of authority, he would have been killed by Li Yunrui on his way back to Beijing.
Fan Xian's trust in Chen Pingping is now almost as great as that in Wu Zhu.
He actually trusted Fan Jian quite a bit, but because of Fan Ruoruo's attitude, Fan Jian seemed a bit down lately.
"Dean Chen, if I told you that I did indeed obtain the divine weapon left by my mother, but it was stolen, would you believe me?"
Chen Pingping smiled and said, "As long as you're not lying to me, I'll believe you!"
Fan Xian rolled his eyes; this was utter nonsense.
"Anyone who dares to steal the divine weapon from the Fan residence must be powerful and very skilled. I suspect it was Wang Qinian, a subordinate of Prince Yong, who was behind it."
Chen Pingping nodded and said, "Wang Qinian was a notorious bandit. In terms of skill and ability, he certainly can do it."
"So, how many of those divine weapons do you think Li Chang'an still has now, in his hands?"
Fan Xian answered truthfully, "The divine weapon you mentioned is a mechanism that can launch ultra-high-speed, explosive hidden weapons."
"There is only one divine weapon, but there are a hundred hidden weapons!"
Upon hearing this number, Chen Pingping gasped!
"That's terrible! But no one will believe you except me."
"So you'd better not tell anyone."
Fan Xian said seriously, "I know, that's why I don't dare to offend Li Chang'an in Jiangnan. I'm afraid he'll shoot me."
Upon hearing the gunshot, Chen Pingping instantly smiled.
It's just a gun!
What transmitter? Just tell me directly, I have one too!
Not only do they have them, they have two!
He touched the mechanism on the wheelchair, where the two shotguns that Ye Qingmei had given him were located.
Fan Xian looked puzzled. "What are you laughing at?"
Chen Pingping tilted her head. "I'm glad, glad you're willing to tell me the truth."
Fan Xian smiled and said, "I'm glad you believe this nonsense."
Chen Pingping continued, "The assassination attempt at the Hanging Temple has yielded results, and His Majesty said you should know as soon as possible."
“That guard is a Xihu person, a spy left by the Xihu envoy a few years ago.”
"He entered the palace as a guard, but the person who handled the formalities had already died, making it an unsolved case."
"That eunuch was a descendant of a prince, and his family was wiped out by the Black Riders on the night of the bloodshed in the capital."
“He eventually entered the palace as a eunuch, and three years ago he secretly hid the dagger while cleaning the Hanging Temple.”
"The white-clad swordsman is Si Gu Jian's younger brother. He is highly skilled in martial arts, as you have witnessed with your own eyes."
"The three did not conspire; their assassination attempt was purely coincidental."
The guards and eunuchs were all guided by the Supervisory Council, and the Shadow was sent by Chen Pingping.
Fan Xian stated frankly, "The man in white is a shadow. I've spent too much time with him; his moves can't fool me."
"Dean Chen, this assassination was arranged by you. I've even told you about the divine weapon, so please don't hide it from me anymore."
Chen Pingping said seriously, "That's too reckless. If it was a trap I set, you're in danger."
Fan Xian asked in surprise, "You want to assassinate the emperor?"
Chen Pingping said, "I only sent a shadow, and it was done according to His Majesty's wishes."
Fan Xian said thoughtfully, "You assassinated His Majesty to relieve his worries?"
Chen Pingping sneered, "The fire you encountered was thoroughly investigated by the Supervisory Council, but no clues were found, and His Majesty did not pursue it further."
"So, His Majesty set the fire, and the entire assassination was a scheme orchestrated by His Majesty himself?" Fan Xian asked, somewhat incredulous.
“That’s right, you guessed correctly. But that fire wasn’t enough, so I sent out Shadow,” Chen Pingping admitted.
Fan Xian still found it somewhat absurd, "But why? What's the point of all this trouble?"
Chen Pingping said, "His Majesty's assassination attempt has shocked the court and the public. The Commander of the Imperial Guards, Gong Dian, was not present at the scene and must be held responsible."
"The Kyoto garrison commander failed in his duty to protect the emperor, and Ye Zhong is also to blame."
"Gong Dian is Ye Zhong's junior brother. The Ye family has suffered a major blow this time. Ye Zhong and Gong Dian have both been exiled to the border army and banished to Dingzhou."
Fan Xian was still not completely dispelled of his doubts. "Why did His Majesty take action against the Ye family? Was it just because Ye Liuyun was seriously injured?"
"What if Ye Liuyun recovers from his injuries? Won't he retaliate?"
Chen Pingping shook his head. "I don't know. Nobody knows what His Majesty is thinking."
Hulong Villa.
Consort Yi brought Li Chengping to express her gratitude to Li Chang'an for saving her life.
In front of Consort Liu, Consort Yi insisted that Li Chengping become Li Chang'an's apprentice.
"Chang'an, you saved Chengping's life this time, and you also saved him from the Baoyuelou incident before."
"Chengping admires you greatly, so why don't you take him as your apprentice?"
Consort Yi and Consort Liu are from the same clan, so they are naturally close to Li Chang'an. It's not a big deal for Li Chengping to become a disciple of hers.
Seeing that Li Chang'an did not agree, Consort Yi began to make Li Chengping kowtow repeatedly.
Li Chang'an quickly stopped her, saying, "Sister-in-law, you can't do this!"
"Guo Baokun injured his head when he was a child, and his mind became less sharp afterward, so Chengping can no longer kowtow."
Consort Yi said, "It's alright, his head is hard, he can take a beating!"
"He's your nephew, so why don't you teach him a thing or two?"
You are skilled in both literature and martial arts; just teach him a little, and he'll be able to protect himself in the future.
As they were talking, Li Chengping had already kowtowed and fainted.
Consort Liu said anxiously, "Ruyi, the child has been knocked unconscious!"
Consort Yi smiled and said, "It's alright, he can still kowtow once he wakes up."
"Now, in the entire court, only Chang'an can guarantee peace and safety."
Li Chang'an looked at Li Chengping pitifully and said, "Alright, sister-in-law, I agree."
"From now on, Chengping will come to the manor regularly, and he and Sizhe will be together. I will find someone to teach them."
Consort Yi exclaimed in surprise, "Still with Fan Sizhe?"
Li Chang'an laughed and said, "Don't worry, no one will dare to trick them into doing bad things again."
The last one who tricked children into doing bad things, Li Chengze, has already been brought down by Li Chang'an, so it's unlikely that the Crown Prince will repeat the same mistake.
After seeing off Consort Yi, Li Chang'an was summoned to the palace.
Emperor Qing met with him privately in the Imperial Study.
"Chang'an, have you seen the news from the Western Qin Kingdom?"
Li Chang'an not only saw it, but he also received the latest intelligence every day.
The Southern Qing border army fought a 10-zhang battle against the Western Qin state in Dingzhou, but was lured deep into the enemy territory by Han Xin and suffered a major defeat.
"Your Majesty, of course I've seen it. Does Your Majesty intend to send troops?"
Emperor Qing snorted coldly and said, "This tiny country has only produced one good warrior, Han Xin."
"However, the various signs from the Western Qin Kingdom have surprised me somewhat."