Of course, Chen Pingping did not believe it. Back then, the old people all knew that the chest was in Lady Ye's hands. However, when Lady Ye was killed, she had not used the chest. This meant that at the time, the chest was not in Taiping Courtyard. Afterward, Chen Pingping conducted a detailed investigation of Taiping Courtyard and did not find any trace of the chest.
Such an extraordinary item naturally couldn't be casually thrown away.
Then, only Wu Zhu knew the whereabouts of the chest. As Fan Xian gradually grew up and lived in such a dangerous environment as Jingdou, if Wu Zhu was not by Fan Xian's side due to his injury, he would certainly have given the chest to Fan Xian to carry at all times to avoid any possible danger.
This was Chen Pingping's deduction. Furthermore, his deduction was not far from the truth.
However, he was wrong on one point. Neither he nor the Emperor had seen the chest with their own eyes, so they had no idea how big or small it was.
Fan Xian did indeed carry the chest. However, it was impossible for the chest to hide it from everyone's eyes and ears. When Fan Xian was killed in the valley because of his own carelessness, the chest was still floating on some weak water.
…
…
Meeting the old cripple's mocking gaze, Fan Xian spread his hands sincerely and said, "I really don't know what chest it is."
He had to keep this secret. Even if the old man in front of him could guess something, he could not admit it. Otherwise, if the Emperor knew that the chest was in his hands, as the ruler of a generation, he would certainly not allow a mysterious magic weapon that could kill experts to stay by his son's side.
The Emperor would open his mouth and ask for it, so Fan Xian would not admit it from the beginning.
Chen Pingping shook his head and was too lazy to continue asking. He knew that the little guy had to keep some protective treasures for himself.
Fan Xian smiled slightly and changed the topic. "Uncle Wu Zhu, that strange chest is one of the two things you didn't calculate for. What is the third?"
Chen Pingping looked at him mockingly. "The third matter is very simple. I did not account for the fact that the carriage in the Council could have helped you block for a while. Given your and the Shadow's abilities, it would not have been difficult for you to escape into the snow forest alone. Even if you were injured, you would not have ended up in such a state. You have been in the Council for a long time. Of course, you know that experts and assassins do not live in the same realm. It is easy to kill an expert, but it is very difficult to kill an assassin … but other than the people in the Council, not many people know that you are a ninth-level assassin."
"I didn't expect this. I didn't expect you to be so stupid." Chen Pingping looked slightly angry.
Fan Xian smiled coldly and said, "You're talking about me killing my way into the snowy forest to get rid of those crossbows? Was that stupid? Even if I can escape … what about my subordinates? Don't forget, in this valley incident, I lost nearly twenty of my men. I didn't call you cold-blooded, but you called me stupid. "
"Cold-blooded?" Chen Pingping looked at Fan Xian with a faint smile. "Have you forgotten that the Overwatch Council needs cold-blooded people the most? Where has your usual coldness and emotionlessness gone? "
Fan Xian tightened his fists slightly and said in a low voice, "Those are my people."
"They are only your subordinates, yet you can't bear to sacrifice them. If you have to sacrifice even more important people in the future, what will you do? Your actions this time have easily torn through your cold exterior and revealed your cowardice. This is the so-called stupidity. A strong person not only has a strong body, but their state of mind must also be strong. Emotions like cowardice will only cause you to die a tragic death. "Chen Pingping narrowed his eyes. A cold light shone through.
"That is not cowardice!" Fan Xian retorted without hesitation. "That is something I have to do."
"You can't care too much," Chen Pingping yawned. Chen Pingping yawned and said, "You don't have to do too many things. I just think that your mother-in-law will be very happy. She finally knows where your Achilles' heel is."
Fan Xian's heart trembled. He felt a glimmer of inauspiciousness. He immediately furrowed his brows and said, "I only care about the people I care about. No matter how many other people die in front of me, I won't bat an eyelid."
"Your mother cares about everyone under heaven," Chen Pingping closed his eyes and said. "In this area, you are smarter than her and stronger than her, but it is still not enough. At most, you can only live a few more days than her."
Fan Xian clapped his hands and warmly said, "There is nothing more to say about these things. In any case, it is best if everyone can live to a ripe old age."
He turned the wheelchair in a beautiful circle. The front of the wheelchair tilted up and circled half a circle around Chen Pingping.
Chen Pingping looked at this scene and couldn't resist laughing. "Is this very fun?"
"Very," Fan Xian said seriously. "You've been in a wheelchair for so many years, yet you haven't thought about how to develop a game to get rid of boredom. This shows that you are a very boring person. You spend all day immersed in a dark and muddled world. What meaning is there in living like this?"
According to Fan Xian's thoughts, it would be best for Chen Pingping to stay out of the matter and spend the last few years of his life going to a relatively large mountain with the beautiful concubines around him for a honeymoon or something. It would be better than dedicating his entire life to the boring business of political scheming.
However, he also knew that for Chen Pingping, scheming about these things was perhaps not just work. It was also a kind of enjoyment, a kind of art. Thus, he didn't say much.
"After I die." Chen Pingping raised his withered hand and casually waved it in the air in the garden. "This garden is yours. As for the women inside, if you want to keep them, then keep them. If you don't, then disperse."
Fan Xian understood that this old man would not do anything because of the lives of these beauties. However, after spending many years together, presumably there would always be a glimmer of affection. Very naturally, he nodded his head.
"How are you going to deal with the Qin family's problem?" Fan Xian suddenly opened his mouth to ask. Although Chen Pingping had told him to think of the big picture and not reveal his weapons right now, he still needed to give something in return.
Chen Pingping shook his head and said, "Everyone wants you to die. The Qin family isn't particularly good, nor is it particularly bad. If you make a move now, it will ruin the overall situation for me. Bear with it for now and see how their family is destroyed in the future. This in itself is a very happy thing."
Fan Xian furrowed his brows slightly. A glimmer of helplessness appeared on his handsome face. "Endure it again?"
"In this area, you have to learn from your father," Chen Pingping said with a not-quite-there smile. Chen Pingping said with a faint smile, "Everyone in this world has died, but I see that your father is still alive … Don't say that this is not a skill. To be able to survive is already the greatest skill."
Fan Xian's brows suddenly straightened like swords. Slowly, he said, "After all, I am a young man. I must make my attitude clear on this matter. Otherwise, any random dog or cat will come and try to kill me. It will always be inconvenient."
Chen Pingping looked at him.
Fan Xian did not seem to feel the old man's cold and severe gaze. He smiled slightly and said, "I'll give you face. I won't touch the Qin family. I'll help you hide it and wait for the moment of the big explosion. As for the others, I will have to kill a few to accompany my subordinates in death."
The wrinkles on Chen Pingping's face deepened. He sighed and said, "What do the others have to do with the attack in the valley?"
"Didn't you say it before? That all of them want me to die? " Fan Xian smiled and said. "Since it is so, regardless of whether or not they have anything to do with the attack, I will kill a few first to establish my might. Presumably, the Emperor will not blame me too much."
Chen Pingping shook his head in disapproval. "Yan Xiaoyi has never interfered in this matter. Why must you form a death grudge with him?"
Fan Xian smiled coldly and said, "What about Yan Xiaoyi's son? Half a year ago, you only said he had a very powerful son. You didn't tell me that San Shi was also killed by him. You also didn't tell me that this little archer was in the Jingdou garrison. "
Chen Pingping was silent. He had not explained everything to Fan Xian on this matter. Presumably, Fan Xian had used his own power to find out. It was not good for him to say more. He only slowly said, "You want revenge, but it's not convenient for you to touch the old Qin family. Are you prepared to kill indiscriminately?"
"The old Qin family has already been pushed to the Eldest Princess's side by you," Fan Xian reminded bluntly. "I cut my mother-in-law with a knife and let them bear some of the Qin family's anger. Is there a problem?"
"There is no problem," Chen Pingping said in a dark voice. "It is just that your way of doing things is a bit unreasonable."
Fan Xian laughed mockingly and said, "Meeting someone as unreasonable as you, I can't be bothered to waste my breath. Don't you know that us young people are used to being unreasonable?"
… …
The winter in Jingdou was cold. Although it was not yet the coldest days of the year, snow covered the residences, jade railings, and red walls. Heavy snow fell from the sky every now and then. All of Jingdou was enveloped in a cold air. The wide red walls of the Royal Palace were all wet from the snow and appeared a bit black.
Just like the change in color of the red palace walls, all of the civil and martial officials in court knew that the Qing Emperor's mood was also somewhat gloomy and dark.
The news of Fan Xian's assassination had long shaken Jingdou. Everyone gradually knew the details of the matter and guessed that there must have been capable figures in the military involved. Each time they thought of how even the Emperor's most tightly controlled military had problems, the civil and martial officials were all silent and cautious. They did not dare to say anything more.
In the little court conferences that followed, other than state affairs, the most talked about was the assassination of Fan Xian. The investigation was led by the Overwatch Council. In cooperation with the Supreme Court and Bureau of Military Affairs, it had long begun. However, after drawing and comparing the 200 heads, not a single clue could be found. The survivor the Overwatch Council had caught was already on the verge of death. He was only hanging on by a thread. For now, there was no way to question him.
Other than the five city-guarding crossbows and clothing clues, there was no progress in the investigation of the assassination of the imperial envoy.
Although the Emperor's expression remained calm, the officials who were fortunate enough to participate in the court conferences could all feel the anger hidden in the Emperor's eyes growing stronger and stronger. However, they didn't know when this fire would spew out and burn these officials to ashes.
Everyone knew why Sir Fan junior had rushed out of the capital last year when he had been appointed to Jiangnan Road as the imperial envoy with full authority.
It was because the rumors from Northern Qi had directly exposed the layer of secret relationship between the Emperor and Sir Fan junior. In order to prevent the situation in Jingdou from becoming unstable, to preserve the face of the royal family, and to allow the Qing court to escape from this awkward secret, the Emperor had secretly banished Sir Fan junior to Jiangnan.
No one had thought that once Fan Xian came to Jiangnan, he would do so many things. He regulated the palace treasury, presided over the bidding, and vigorously supported the river works. In less than half a year, with the flip of a hand, he had solved the problem of the empty national treasury that had troubled the Qing Kingdom for a few years. In the end, he had used the opportunity of returning home to visit relatives to clean out the nest of rats in Jiaozhou.
The Deputy General of the Jiaozhou Navy, Dang Xiaobo, had long been escorted back to Jingdou. He had taken his confession and made it into an ironclad case. He had been executed in the autumn. The silver in the Jiangnan treasury had long been moved back to Jingdou. The court finally had the confidence to begin major repairs to the river dikes, disaster relief, and tax reductions. Each of these were Fan Xian's contributions to the Qing court.
The officials all thought that such a figure could not always be left in Jiangnan. He would probably have to return to the capital in the end. Furthermore, the Emperor must have thought that after a year, the news would have long faded. The powers in Jingdou would have learned to accept this kind of situation. The illegitimate child that had been banished to Jiangnan would finally be able to stand openly in court.
No one had thought that on Sir Fan junior's way back to the capital to debrief, he would be ambushed.
This was not just an ambush on the imperial envoy or an ambush on a dragon. This matter had already touched the court's bottom line. If this matter could not be investigated clearly, it could only mean that the Emperor's control over the Qing Kingdom was already far from what it had been in the past.
In the present day, when the battle for succession was gradually rising to the surface, this kind of signal was, without question, like a smear of red seeping out of a giant whale's wound in the ocean. It was enough to attract countless sharks to greedily come forward to fight for food.
However, the case remained like a ball of fog. For a long time, it was impossible to see clearly what was going on inside. If it dragged on for a few more days, the Emperor, in his anger, would probably disregard the consequences and strike down lightning as a severe punishment.
The prudent officials in court were most afraid of this kind of situation. They were worried that the Emperor, because of his heartache for Fan Xian and his pride, would, in a situation where there was no evidence, attack limitlessly and punish without limit, and expand this matter to a point that the Qing Kingdom could not endure.
"Please reconsider, Your Majesty!"
An old official standing among the ranks of civil officials stepped forward and knelt under the dragon chair.
…
…
(A friend has come from afar, I want to have a good time first, I'm going to drink …) (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. QIDIAN. COM, there are more chapters. Support the author, support the original reading!)
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