Joy of Life: Me, the Second Prince? Summon Yuan Tiangang!

"And another thing," Emperor Qing suddenly spoke again, his gaze fixed on Li Chengze, "Second Prince, I heard that your residence has been quite lively these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengze showed no panic whatsoever. Instead, he smiled naturally, his brows even displaying a perfectly measured hint of pleasure: "Father's information network is indeed excellent. It's Lili's younger brother who has arrived. The child is young and has just suffered a great calamity, so Lili is heartbroken. The siblings have been separated for so long, and with another person joining the household, the family has naturally become much more lively. I've been quite troubled by their constant crying these past few days, but it seems like a joyous occasion after all."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing stared at Li Chengze for a long while, his deep eyes revealing no emotion whatsoever.

After a moment, he nodded slightly, as if the nerve-wracking probing question he had just asked was really just a casual question from an elder to a younger person.

"Since it's a family matter, then settle it properly." Emperor Qing withdrew his gaze, picked up the vermilion brush on his desk again, and said, "Alright, the eldest prince was assassinated and is still shaken. You brothers should get closer together. You two should go to the side hall early tonight to keep him company at the welcoming banquet. You may leave."

"Your subject takes his leave."

Li Chengze and the Crown Prince bowed in unison and then slowly withdrew from the Imperial Study.

Only when he stepped out of the high threshold of the Imperial Study and felt the cool breeze of the early spring night outside the palace did Li Chengze silently sneer to himself.

Just a casual question?

The two walked one after the other along the long, secluded palace path, their shadows stretched long and short by the palace lanterns on either side.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian walked ahead, his steps appearing somewhat heavy.

He suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Li Chengze behind him.

His usually dignified, even somewhat rigid face was now filled with complex emotions.

He hesitated for a long time, and finally waited until the eunuchs and palace maids around him had retreated some distance before lowering his voice and walking to Li Chengze's side. He whispered, "Second brother, there's something fishy about eldest brother's assassination attempt. Father's words just now... it seems he thinks you and I were behind it?"

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, Li Chengze paused slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He turned his head and gave Li Chengqian a serious look.

Li Chengze never expected that the Crown Prince would be so perceptive as to discern the hidden murderous intent in Emperor Qing's words.

However, Li Chengze knew very well that although the Crown Prince understood half of it, he did not understand the other half.

The person Emperor Qing really wanted to test was not the Crown Prince, but Li Chengze.

Although the Crown Prince has officials from the Eastern Palace and the Empress's maternal family influence, these are all in the open and he simply does not have the ability to organize a group of top assassins capable of killing the Crown Prince's personal guards in such a short period of time.

But Li Chengze was different. Emperor Qing knew that he had connections with the Luo Wang organization, and that the Luo Wang organization wanted to easily send a group of assassins to kill the eldest prince.

Thinking of this, Li Chengze looked at the Crown Prince's slightly nervous face and couldn't help but feel a little mocking, but he didn't show it on his face.

He reached out and gently patted the prince's shoulder.

"Your Highness is overthinking it." Li Chengze's tone returned to its usual lazy and casual manner. "Father is wise and mighty, how could he suspect us brothers for no reason? When our eldest brother was assassinated, we were too busy fighting together against the enemy. You, you just think too much."

He leaned closer and added meaningfully in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Don't worry. As long as we don't do anything reckless, nothing will happen. Tonight, let's just focus on drinking."

After speaking, Li Chengze ignored the Crown Prince's thoughtful, even somewhat doubtful, gaze, withdrew his hand, and strode towards the palace gate.

His deep purple python robe billowed in the night wind, like a dark fire burning in the darkness.

The Crown Prince stood there, watching Li Chengze's departing figure, his brows furrowed, his hands unconsciously clenching in his sleeves.

……

By the time they returned to the Second Prince's residence, it was already very late at night.

The mansion was quiet, except for the study, where the light was still on.

Li Chengze pushed open the door to the study and immediately saw Si Lili sitting behind his desk, where he usually reviewed documents.

She was dressed in an elegant moon-white casual home dress, her long hair casually tied up with a jade hairpin, giving her a more gentle and capable air than a more worldly air.

Upon seeing Li Chengze enter, Si Lili immediately stood up to greet him, taking off his cloak with natural and practiced movements.

"Your Highness is back? Has something urgent happened in the palace?" Si Lili's eyes showed concern.

Li Chengze walked behind the desk and sat down. He picked up the slightly cooled tea on the table and took a sip to calm his agitation.

"My elder brother has gone to the capital." Li Chengze put down his teacup, his voice so calm that it was impossible to detect a ripple of emotion.

"The Crown Prince? So fast?" Si Lili was slightly surprised, then frowned. "Logically speaking, even if the border army returns to the capital with minimal entourage, it should still take at least two days. Did the Crown Prince travel day and night to get back?"

"Not only did we travel day and night, but we also encountered a little 'trouble' on the way." Li Chengze sneered and told Si Lili everything that had happened in the palace and the news of the assassination attempt on the eldest prince.

Upon hearing that the Crown Prince had been assassinated, Si Lili's expression instantly turned serious. She was an extremely intelligent woman, having spent a long time navigating the world of pleasure and intelligence networks, and possessed an exceptionally keen political sense.

After a moment's thought, she instantly grasped the key point, abruptly raising her head to look at Li Chengze, and said in a deep voice, "Does Emperor Qing suspect that you were the one who did it?"

Li Chengze didn't speak, but simply nodded silently.

"How could this be!" Si Lili exclaimed urgently. "Not to mention that our 'Net' has been focused entirely on rescuing my brother these past few days and hasn't spared any manpower to ambush the First Prince outside the city. Just considering the motive, by going to provoke the First Prince at this time, aren't you just handing over incriminating evidence to the Investigation Bureau? This is definitely a frame-up!"

"It's certain that they framed me." Li Chengze leaned back in his chair, his long, slender fingers tapping lightly on the table, making a "tap, tap" sound. "The question is, who framed me? And why?"

Si Lili walked to the desk, placed her hands on the table, and her beautiful eyes flashed with a thoughtful light: "First, we can rule out the Crown Prince. Although the Crown Prince sees you as a thorn in his side, he doesn't have the courage or the elite assassins to assassinate the First Prince's personal guards. If the matter is exposed, his position as Crown Prince will be in jeopardy."

"That's right." Li Chengze nodded in agreement. "The Crown Prince is a ruler who wants to maintain the status quo, not one who wants to expand. He wouldn't dare to gamble everything at this time."

"Who could it be?" Si Lili frowned. "Could it be... Chen Pingping?"