svetikya Page 173
Page 173
Emperor Qing drew his bow and arrow, and coldly said, "What an incomprehensible madman!"
As Chen Pingping was pushed out of the Imperial Study, his hands unconsciously touched the handles of the wheelchair containing the shotgun.
His heart was also troubled by this news.
"Fan Jian cursed for an hour. Judging from his behavior over the years, Xiao Yezi's death should have nothing to do with him."
“Back then, Xiao Yezi died tragically, and we personally eliminated the Empress Dowager’s maternal clan, but there must have been someone behind the scenes who orchestrated it.”
"Now it seems that all of this was His Majesty's doing, and he had a reason to kill Xiao Yezi!"
On the surface, Chen Pingping appeared calm and composed, but deep within his heart, a monstrous wave of hatred was inexplicably surging.
"On the night Xiao Yezi died, Fan Jian, Li Zhi, and I were not in Kyoto, and Wu Zhu was not by her side either!"
"She had just given birth to Fan Xian. How lonely and desperate she must have felt at that time!"
"My lord, this old servant will make you suffer a thousand times, a hundred times, more loneliness than Xiao Yezi!"
"Everyone in this palace with the surname Li deserves to die!"
You deserve to kill yourselves, you deserve to commit incest and depravity, you deserve to be wiped out as a family!
Fan Mansion.
Fan Jian berated Chen Pingping for a long time at the Supervisory Council, but ultimately failed to get Chen Pingping to help suppress the news.
When he returned to the Fan residence in a depressed mood, he found Fan Ruoruo waiting for him in the main hall.
Fan Ruoruo, who was usually well-behaved, had a somewhat cold expression, while Liu Ruyu and Fan Sizhe beside her were also silent.
"Ruoruo, what's wrong with you?"
Fan Ruoruo frowned and went straight to the point, "Father, where is my older brother?"
Upon hearing this, Fan Jian was immediately startled!
Back then, in order to protect Ye Qingmei and Emperor Qing's child, Fan Jian exchanged his newborn eldest son for Fan Xian.
His eldest son, who was also the eldest son of the Fan family's eldest branch, died in Taiping Villa.
"Ruoruo, haven't I told you this many times?"
"Your older brother was in poor health and died shortly after birth. I consulted many famous doctors, but nothing worked!"
Tears suddenly welled up in Fan Ruoruo's eyes. "Then, what about my mother?"
Why did she become depressed and die not long after giving birth to me?
Fan Jian said somewhat angrily, "Ruo Ruo! What exactly are you trying to say!"
"Your eldest brother died young, which is why your mother became depressed. Is there a problem with that?"
Fan Ruoruo clearly didn't believe this explanation. "With your financial resources, if medicine really is ineffective and you do everything you can to save her, why would she be so desperate?"
As she spoke, she pulled a tattered book from her bosom.
"On the title page of this book, there is a record of the important timeline from when you, His Majesty, Dean Chen, and Prince Jing met Ye Qingmei until her death!"
"March 15th of the 57th year of the Qing Kingdom Era was the day Ye Qingmei was murdered, and also the day my elder brother passed away!"
A flicker of panic crossed Fan Jian's eyes as he snatched the book away.
The information I jotted down casually back then was actually found by Fan Ruoruo. Could it be that this girl is still holding a grudge about her mother's death?
Fan Jian said with a smile, "Ruo Ruo, of course it's just a coincidence. You're just too smart and overthink things."
Fan Ruoruo sneered, "After your elder brother passed away, what were you and Mother arguing about on and off? Did you really think no servants heard us?"
"Whose life did you exchange for your innocent elder brother?!"
Hearing Fan Ruoruo's words, Fan Jian felt even more agitated.
He wasn't as ruthless as Emperor Qing and Chen Pingping; he didn't silence any servants who might have overheard a single word.
Fan Ruoruo continued, "Ever since Fan Xian came to the capital, I've been wondering why you treat him better than me and Sizhe!"
"Is it really just because he's an illegitimate child and feels guilty?"
"Now that the news has spread that Fan Xian is Ye Qingmei and His Majesty's son, I have finally matched all the clues together!"
"In order to please His Majesty, you actually used your own son's life to exchange for His Majesty's and Ye Qingmei's son!"
Although Fan Ruoruo guessed Fan Jian's motives wrong, she was right about the outcome.
In this timeline, because Fan Ruoruo did not grow up with Fan Xian, she spent a lot of time investigating the cause of her mother's death.
As a smart person with a strong memory, once I start paying attention, I'm sure I'll be able to find some clues over the years.
"On the night of March 15th, the 57th year of the Qing Kingdom Era, the child who was killed along with Ye Qingmei..."
It wasn't her son, but my older brother, my mother's son!
"Father, you only have eyes for your Emperor and your brothers, completely forgetting my mother and my elder brother!"
"But I haven't forgotten!"
At this point in Fan Ruoruo's speech, Fan Jian became completely enraged!
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with His Majesty!"
"Little Leaf's son cannot die!"
Fan Ruoruo was stunned when she heard Fan Jian's words, and Liu Ruyu and Fan Sizhe were also shocked!
Fan Jian used his own son to exchange for Fan Xian, not for the sake of His Majesty, but because he admired Ye Qingmei?
What profound admiration must one have to do something so incredible!
With tears welling up in her eyes, Fan Ruoruo said, "Ye Qingmei's son cannot die?"
"My mother's son can die? My mother can die?"
These words struck a nerve with Fan Jian; the deaths of his eldest son and wife were entirely his fault.
"Ruoruo! You...you're being insolent!"
Fan Ruoruo wiped away her tears and said, "Don't worry, no one will dare to be disrespectful to you again! I'm going back to my grandfather's house!"
Fan Ruoruo left home in a huff, and Liu Ruyu quietly left with Fan Sizhe, afraid of angering Fan Jian again.
As the two walked a distance away, Fan Sizhe suddenly said seriously, "Mother, I'm taking you back to Grandpa's house!"
Liu Ruyu said in surprise, "Why are you making things worse? Ruoruo will come back naturally once she calms down."
Fan Sizhe said with great distress, "Mother, haven't you understood yet!"
"My father was willing to sacrifice even his own son for Ye Qingmei's son!"
"Wouldn't I be in great danger? If Fan Xian and I fell into the river at the same time, Fan Jian would definitely save Fan Xian!"
Liu Ruyu slapped Fan Sizhe on the forehead, "Don't you know how to swim? What nonsense are you spouting!"
Fan Sizhe covered his head and said, "I was just using an example; the principle is the same!"
"Mother, think about it carefully, isn't that the truth?"
Chapter 126 Fan Xian is assassinated! Thorough investigation of Shijia Town! (23)
Zhuang Mohan died before Li Chang'an left Northern Qi.
He passed away peacefully, holding the annotations he had just completed for the poetry collection.
Zhuang Mohan also left his entire book collection to Li Chang'an, which was regarded as the legacy of a literary giant.
However, Li Chang'an did not accept it, but left it to Zhuang Mohan's disciple.
Li Chang'an didn't want to spend too much energy on cultural and historical matters; it was better to leave these things to specialists.
With famous poems copied from another world, Li Chang'an's status as a literary giant will never be shaken in this lifetime.
After that, Li Chang'an left Northern Qi with Zhan Pianpian.
Not long after leaving the capital, news from all over Nanqing arrived.
Fan Wujiu even relayed almost the entire conversation between Li Yunrui and Li Chengze.
The little alpaca is in danger. He has been dragged into the fight against Fan Xian by Li Yunrui, and Fan Xian's fathers are not people he can shake.
Of course, the one who screwed over Li Chengze the most was his father, Emperor Qing, who turned a perfectly good artistic young man into a whetstone.
Li Chang'an and Li Chengze had a good relationship since childhood, and Li Chang'an didn't want Li Chengze to end up like that.
Therefore, Li Chang'an will use his own methods to squeeze Li Chengze out of the succession struggle.
The specific method is very simple: just get him out of the game as soon as possible.
Let him give up on the idea early on, so that he won't become too obsessed in the end.
As for the dramatic Crown Prince and Li Yunrui, Li Chang'an didn't have much affection for them. Their eventual suicide can be considered a fulfillment of their desires.
Next, Li Chang'an arranged for Teng Zijing to go to Shijia Town in Cangzhou first.
That place was where Li Yunrui and Li Chengze smuggled goods from the inner warehouse; there should be plenty of evidence to prove it.
The two major distributors of the Imperial Treasury, the Cui family, smuggled goods to Northern Qi by land, while the Ming family smuggled goods to Dongyi City by sea.